South Sudan: Unshattered Hope in the Face of Adversity in South Sudan

After a long and gruesome civil war in a then-combined Sudan, southern Sudan attained self-rule in 2011 as South Sudan, when autonomy and relative calm prevailed. This was short-lived, as conflict broke out between the government and opposition forces in December 2013. This led to a civil war that caused the death of tens of thousands of people and forced one in three people to flee from their homes.   

  “When the country got its independence in 2011, there was a lot of hope”, says Andrew Dak, hospital coordinator support, who has worked with MSF since 2004. “People believed there would be no more war and a lot of investment in the health infrastructure in the country. But two years later, there was already fighting in the country. Everything went back to zero.”  

  Since then, in addition to recurrent conflicts, the country has continued to suffer from concurrent emergencies, including food insecurity, disease outbreaks and severe flooding.

Across South Sudan, people face major obstacles when trying to access healthcare. Floods are one, combined with an overall lack of facilities and insecurity.  

  “Many mothers and pregnant women live in very remote areas and can’t reach medical facilities,” says Harriet Wikoru, MSF midwife activity manager in Old Fangak. “Most of them can only go to traditional birth attendants in their village. The lack of access to health facilities puts women in danger both during their pregnancy and delivery.” 

  To overcome these barriers, our teams have been supporting most-at-risk communities by running clinics, outreach and preventatives activities, and training community healthcare workers in remote areas.

After decades of conflict and underinvestment, the severe shortages of health infrastructure and qualified medical professionals continue to pose major challenges to the development of a good healthcare system in South Sudan.  

  “For more than 15 years, MSF has been providing care for patients here in Bentiu. However, the organisation won’t be here forever, and should only be here to provide emergency care”, says Dr John Puok, an MSF medical doctor. “If the government of South Sudan would do something about the situation here, MSF may relocate these services to other people who are in need. Maybe not in South Sudan, but in other parts of the world.”

  To have a long-term impact on the quality of care in the country, the MSF Academy for Healthcare is training South Sudanese healthcare workers in several states to strengthen competencies and improve the quality of care.

According to the United Nations, two-thirds of the population, about 9.4 million people, need humanitarian assistance, healthcare and protection. Already a serious crisis, the country is experiencing additional needs with the arrival of returnees and refugees from Sudan, which the current humanitarian response cannot absorb. 

  Despite this, MSF has been observing a progressive reduction of international funding for health in the country, resulting in an increased risk of serious health and social impacts on people. The government of South Sudan and international development sector partners must invest, engage and support the country’s health system. Sustained and consistent investment is needed to avoid continuous deterioration of the situation and any further potential crisis.