A Lifeline in the Nuba Mountains: Why Telecommunications Matter

By Rebecca Tinsley* 

Around 4 million people currently live on the cusp of starvation in southern Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. Hunger pervades every corner. Combing through sand, women search for scraps of grain, while others survive by boiling herbs, foraged from nearby scrubland. 

Long overlooked by the international community and frequently eclipsed by the Darfur conflict in western Sudan, the Nuba Mountains have recently emerged as a critical area of concern in what UN officials have described as one of the most severe humanitarian emergencies across the globe.

After millions of Sudanese people saw their peaceful revolutionary efforts crushed by military coup leaders in 2023, the country has been consumed by a brutal war against its civilian population. The toll is staggering: roughly 150,000 dead and nearly 13 million displaced – over 5 million of them children – who now face malnutrition, disease and exploitation after being forced to flee their homes. 

Since the start of the war, more than 700,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) have arrived in the comparatively safe Nuba Mountains. Yet the scale and intensity of hunger here surpasses any other place on Earth.

Conditions are especially dire at the Hajr al-Jawad camp. Families huddle together in pockets of shade, too weak to wave away flies, according to reports from visiting journalists. Many children lie motionless, unable to muster the energy to play. Nine months pregnant with a worryingly small bump, Hala Fadulama, 35, recently told a Telegraph reporter about her desperate situation. "I feel very weak," she said, also noting that her four young children must walk three hours daily just to fetch water.

“Children's lives in Sudan have been utterly torn apart and changed forever, with unimaginable loss, physical and emotional distress, and prevalent violations of their rights," explained Mohamed Abdiladif of Save the Children in a recent interview with The Arab Weekly.

“They are hungry, they are scared, they are living a day-by-day existence, with stressed and preoccupied parents struggling to meet their needs. A generation isn't yet lost, but without help, it may well be."

Local companies are providing support where they can, in collaboration with international partners. Pan-African digital operator, MTN, provides critical data, voice, digital, fintech, wholesale, enterprise and infrastructure. According to the company, its operations span 16 markets serving 291 million customers, with 158 million gaining internet access through its services and 63 million connecting to digital financial services. Its technology plays a critical role in Sudan, currently supporting a system known as the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), which rapidly registers and monitors displaced populations while collecting detailed information on a range of priority needs, such as shelter types and access to services.

This data helps the humanitarian community prioritize information to assist vulnerable individuals in the most adverse conditions, simultaneously tracking millions of internally displaced people.

For example, in the Nuba Mountains the DTM helps to guide cargo planes – airdropping vital supplies of maize, beans and salt – to the correct locations.

This is just one instance illustrating the crucial importance of digital infrastructure. Everyone deserves the benefits of modern, connected life, and the access to health care, education and employment opportunities that come with it. Access to reliable telecommunication services is a fundamental human right.

While war and instability threaten to cut off Sudan’s communities from the outside world, MTN have maintained a significant presence in the country, investing in network expansion and community development.

Fuel shortages, power cuts and armed groups seizing key data centres have plagued its network. Millions were severed from banking, emergency services and family communication after a countrywide blackout in February 2024. 

In spite of these obstacles, MTN quickly restored the network, enabling residents and businesses to access humanitarian information, resume digital transactions and reconnect with family and friends.

And yet, as countries including the US, Britain and France, make substantial cuts to international aid budgets, the United States Department of Justice has directed criticism at MTN and other telecom companies for operating in conflict zones.

In an era of profound geopolitical upheaval and rapid technological change, the lesson from Sudan is clear: access to telecommunications in developing nations is not merely a convenience but a lifeline, empowering individuals, supporting small businesses and fostering inclusive growth. Recognising this reality is the first step to ensuring that connectivity serves humanity's most vulnerable, not just its most fortunate.

*Rebecca Tinsley is a former BBC journalist and the founder of Waging Peace, a human rights group that has been working on Sudan since 2004.