South Sudan

Fieldset

South Sudan is the world’s youngest country, gaining its independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long civil war.

However, violence erupted again in 2012, when a power struggle between the president and his deputy gave rise to the South Sudanese Civil War. Millions of people have been forced to flee their homes and livelihoods.

South Sudan is located in Central East Africa and has a largely tropical climate, although areas in the north of the country tend to be drier and hotter. Malaria and kala azar are both endemic.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) first worked in South Sudan in 1983. Our work has responded to conflicts, neglected diseases and gaps in healthcare.

Ebenezer Ngwakwe

Doctor

Hope and humanitarian medical care in Old Fangak, South Sudan

With the right medications and enough to eat, people with HIV can live long, healthy lives. But what happens when you live in a place where access to these basics is a challenge? Dr Ebenezer Ngwakwe writes...

01 Dec 2020 / 8 minute read

Laura and members of the MSF team in Juba, South Sudan

Laura Wright

Epidemiologist

COVID-19 in South Sudan: Do you leave, or do you stay?

Sweat, fear, perseverance. Epidemiologist Laura shares a fly-on-the-wall account of how a team more accustomed to malaria and malnutrition took on the pandemic.

01 Nov 2020 / 14 minute read

Jean-Nicolas Dangelser

Emergency Coordinator

The hidden impact of conflict in South Sudan

When a bloody attack leaves people in urgent need of medical care, the MSF team must work fast to save lives. But this cycle of violence impacts far beyond the life-threatening gunshot wounds, as Jean-Nicolas Dangelser explains...

30 Sep 2020 / 8 minute read

Mamman Mustapha

Project Coordination

South Sudan: Challenging times in Old Fangak

Mamman's MSF assignment in South Sudan was only meant to last nine months, but a series of unexpected events meant he stayed for almost twice that. He shares the story...

17 Sep 2020 / 7 minute read

Ayla Emmink

Doctor

Another goodbye

COVID-19 travel restrictions mean that many of our key medical and logistical staff aren't able to reach the projects where they're desperately needed. But what does that mean for teams on the ground? Dr Ayla blogs...

14 Aug 2020 / 4 minute read

Jennifer Hulse

Doctor

Eight spaces on the plane

The team at Lankien hospital in South Sudan are preparing for their first COVID-19 patients when a violent attack on a nearby town brings a crisis of a different kind. British doctor Jennifer Hulse shares this powerful eyewitness account from a "mass casualty event".

12 Aug 2020 / 12 minute read

Ayla Emmick outside the MSF hospital in Bentiu

Ayla Emmink

Doctor

COVID-19 in South Sudan: "We can do this, together"

What's it like to wait for a pandemic to hit your hospital? As they make all the preparations they can, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) doctor Ayla writes from remote Bentiu, in South Sudan...

01 Aug 2020 / 2 minute read

Istifanus Chindong Damulak

Medical team leader

"They all had gunshot wounds": Emergency mode in South Sudan

When violence erupted in Pieri, South Sudan, killing 200 people and wounding 300 more, the MSF team at nearby Lankien hospital braced for a wave of severely injured patients. Medical team leader Istifanus Chindong Damulak shares his personal account of this traumatic time.

28 Jul 2020 / 8 minute read

Ayla Emmink

Doctor

COVID-19 in South Sudan: Waiting for the wave - Part 2

As the pandemic disrupts medical supplies and staff, doctor Ayla Emmink is relocated from her rural project to a vast UN displacement camp – where our teams are racing to prepare for the arrival of COVID-19

16 Jul 2020 / 7 minute read

Ayla Emmink

Doctor

COVID-19 in South Sudan: Waiting for the wave - Part 1

14 Jul 2020 / 7 minute read

Ayla Emmink

Doctor

South Sudan: "This is what we signed up for"

As the first cases of COVID-19 are confirmed in South Sudan, doctor Ayla Emmink shares her concerns for communities and patients in an area where many preventative measures are a luxury

29 Jun 2020 / 4 minute read

Ayla Emmink

Doctor

South Sudan: "With COVID-19, it's a case of 'when' not 'if'"

In her previous post, MSF doctor Ayla shared the story of a late-night emergency call to treat a young patient who sadly could not be saved. In this latest piece, she looks back at that night…

19 Jun 2020 / 3 minute read