Juba, 24 March 2025 – Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is alarmed by the escalating armed clashes in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state, which have displaced thousands and restricted access to healthcare amid a cholera outbreak. As people flee for safety, cholera is spreading rapidly, claiming lives and deepening the humanitarian crisis.
MSF teams are actively responding to urgent medical needs across multiple locations in Upper Nile State, including Ulang, Malakal, and Renk counties, by providing lifesaving care and expanding activities along the Sobat corridor to reach more people affected by violence and cholera.
“We call on all parties to the conflict to respect and protect civilians, medical facilities, and humanitarian workers, as well as to grant unhindered humanitarian access to people being affected by the violence and cholera, in line with international humanitarian law,” says Zakaria Mwatia, MSF Head of Mission in South Sudan. “As an independent medical organisation, we provide care to all in need regardless of their armed or political affiliations.”
With cholera spreading rapidly and violence ongoing, the need for medical care in Upper Nile State is more critical than ever!Zakaria Mwatia, MSF Head of Mission in South Sudan
Since the beginning of March, MSF has treated over 400 patients with cholera in Ulang and provided trauma care to more than 30 patients wounded in the ongoing violence. Our teams are also supporting multiple local health facilities along the Sobat and Nile rivers. MSF also operates a hospital in the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Malakal and supports Malakal Teaching Hospital.
“Our teams in Renk County have recently expanded support for surgical services at Renk County Hospital, in addition to primary healthcare to the displaced people from Sudan at the refugees and returnees' sites in Atham, Girbanat and Gosfami. Cholera has already spread to the neighbouring Jonglei State, where we are running a 100-bed cholera treatment unit at Akobo County Hospital and the MSF hospital in Lankien treating patients including those from Upper Nile State,” adds Mwatia.
“With cholera spreading rapidly and violence ongoing, the need for medical care in Upper Nile State is more critical than ever!” concludes Mwatia.
---------------------------------------------
Notes
In Upper Nile State and surrounding areas MSF runs a range of activities, they include:
Ulang County, Upper Nile State: MSF operates a secondary healthcare hospital in Ulang town and a network of decentralised primary healthcare facilities in Waga, Barmach, Nyangore, Chuok, Duk, Wunbut, Pachuey, Rinyang, Tuargany, Kuich, Pobor, Kuoch, Wechwel, and Ruplet. These services are lifelines for a community facing limited access to healthcare in a volatile environment.
MSF focus is on emergency care, maternal and child health services, and treatment for common diseases such as malaria and respiratory infections. Mobile clinics extend the reach of medical assistance to remote areas, addressing the needs of displaced populations and underserved communities.
Malakal County, Upper Nile State: MSF provides primary and secondary healthcare services in the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site, and paediatric services at Malakal Teaching Hospital in Malakal Town. MSF also runs Decentralized Models of Care (DMC) components to provide care to people living in underserved and hard-to-reach areas including Gelachel, Adong, Ayong, Kolliet, Maat, Nyiluak, Agunjok, Wunakoch, Wunpeith, Denshuk, Atiaptiap, Rom, Aree and Peldarawei.
MSF provides a wide range of services such as treatment of transmittable diseases, sexual and gender-based violence care, mental health and chronic diseases, a 24-hour Emergency Room, inpatient department or blood bank, among others. MSF also responded to a cholera outbreak in Malakal late 2024.
Renk County, Upper Nile State: MSF started working in Renk County in May 2023 in response to the massive influx of people fleeing the war in Sudan. Today, MSF operates a stabilization centre in Joda at the border with Sudan, providing healthcare services in Renk Civil Hospital in Renk town, and medical and other services in the informal settlements of Atham, Girbanat and Gosfami.
MSF services include surgical services, primary and secondary healthcare, supply of water and construction of sanitation facilities. All these services cater to refugees, returnees, and host communities.
Akobo and Lankien, Jonglei State: In Nyirol County, MSF has established a cholera treatment unit in Lankien town, while in Akobo, MSF is responding through supporting case management in Akobo County Hospital and providing technical support to local actors.
International Women's Day: Highlighting national female staff in South Sudan
The cholera outbreak in South Sudan spread alarmingly rapidly – we are still on high alert
