Insecurity Fuelling Emergency in Southern Sudan

Militia Man in Southern Sudan

Southern Sudan is facing the worst humanitarian crisis ever since the 2005 peace agreement that ended more than two decades of civil war with the North. In a report: ‘Facing Up To Reality: Health crisis deepens as violence escalates in Southern Sudan’, international medical relief organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says the response to the emergency is inadequate. “Violence is surging, plunging people from one disaster to the next. Yet immediate needs are not being met,” says Stephan Goetghebuer, MSF director of operations for Sudan. The relief agency is calling on government agencies and international donors to appreciate the full extent of the emergency and take immediate actions.

Insecurity in Upper Nile, Jonglei, Lakes and Central Equatorial States has been a major concern in the Southern Sudan. Ugandan rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the Equatorial States is accused of massive attacks. MSF says due to the insecurity, major emergencies have been hampered with like distribution of health facilities and drugs to the areas in need in time. This year’s interventions in these regions surpassed three times last year’s total projects in Southern Sudan. The report cites that women and children were the affected in the villages. “The intensity of this year’s violence has severe consequences,” said Shelagh Woods, MSF Deputy Head of Mission.

Woods adds that the treated injured women had lost entire family members and children had their legs chattered by bullets. The violence has displaced up to 250,000 people, who live in precarious conditions where disease thrives and malnutrition is a grave risk. In the first ten months of 2009, MSF admitted 11,129 patients with severe malnutrition to its clinics, compared to 6,139 admissions for all 2008. The rising violence aggravates the already dire medical situation in Southern Sudan, where 75 percent of people have no access to even the most basic healthcare, and where large-scale outbreaks of diseases threaten lives.

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