Yei, South Sudan – 6 November 2025 – Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has decided to resume activities in South Sudan’s Yei County, Central Equatoria State, following a suspension of over three months.
Due to ongoing concerns over the volatile security situation along key roads including Yei-Morobo, Yei-Lasu, and Yei-Maridi, MSF will limit its physical presence in Yei Payam. MSF will thus not resume outreach activities and will no longer operate in Morobo county, but will continue engaging with all parties to find safer and efficient ways to support health facilities outside Yei town.
On 5 August 2025, MSF suspended all activities in Yei and Morobo counties following a period of alarming insecurity, including the abduction of an MSF staff member just days after a Ministry of Health staff member was abducted from an MSF ambulance. The project will undergo a major redesign to incorporate strict security measures and mitigate future risks.
"Providing much needed care to mothers needing a safe delivery, children with malaria, and people fleeing violence—has always been our motivation, and the decision to suspend our activities was a difficult but necessary step,” says Dr Ferdinand Atte, MSF Country Coordinator for South Sudan. “As we begin this phased resumption of activities, we are changing how we work to keep our staff safe, but our commitment remains the same: to be here, providing neutral and impartial care for the communities in need.”
Central Equatoria state remains one of the areas in South Sudan facing intense violence. The growing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Yei town, fleeing ongoing clashes, add to those urgently in need of medical assistance. Access to healthcare services has been deteriorating, leaving the most vulnerable with nowhere to turn.
This newly redesigned project will focus on strengthening emergency and maternal care in Yei Payam, focusing on primary and secondary healthcare by providing targeted support to Yei Civil Hospital, notably by upgrading the maternity department and operating theatre to ensure the provision of caesarean sections and other life-saving surgical interventions.
Primary healthcare support will continue for the Jansuk Clinic, which currently serves the highest number of patients across Yei County. MSF will also expand vital services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Yei, including through a community-based approach and support for the one-stop centre at Yei Hospital.
“To mitigate against the risks that led to the suspension, the project’s previous outreach component will be fully suspended for now, meaning direct support and on-the-ground activities at remote PHCCs, including to the Boma Health Initiative will cease, adds Dr Atte. “While we deeply regret the impact this might have on the communities living far from Yei town, we cannot compromise the safety of our staff. We will continue to engage with all relevant parties to find safer ways to support facilities outside Yei in the future.”
MSF is currently holding discussions with relevant stakeholders to finalize practical modalities for a safe and quick resumption of activities. MSF calls on all parties to the conflict to ensure the safety of all medical and humanitarian workers.
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Prior to the suspension of activities in Yei River and Morobo Counties in August 2025, MSF supported four Ministry of Health facilities, ensuring access to outpatient consultations, routine vaccinations, maternal and child healthcare, and mental health services. Mobile clinics and community-based healthcare through the Boma Health Initiative remain vital to reaching remote and underserved populations.
MSF also responded to various emergencies, including supported people displaced by the violence through mobile clinics, distribution of emergency relief items, and referrals to Yei Civil Hospital. MSF teams provide outpatient consultations, routine immunizations, antenatal care (ANC), family planning, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) care, mental health services, and health promotion.
Between January and August 2025, MSF teams conducted 39,500 outpatient consultations, treated more than 25,000 patients for malaria, conducted 4,338 antenatal consultations, assisted in 438 births and supplied more than 1.5 million litres of water to communities in need.
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