Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned that South Sudan is facing an ‘overwhelming’ influx of refugees coming from Sudan.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned that South Sudan is facing an “overwhelming” influx of refugees from Sudan and a rapidly growing cholera outbreak.
The medical aid organization stated that up to 5,000 people cross the border every day. The United Nations recently raised this figure to between 7,000 and 10,000.
Since the outbreak of conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023, Sudan has been facing one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in the world; tens of thousands have died, and millions have been displaced.
According to the UN, an MSF emergency coordinator in the town of Renk, near a transit center holding around 17,000 people, said they were working with the International Committee of the Red Cross to provide care.
“Completely Overwhelming”
Emanuele Montobbio stated, “But the situation is completely overwhelming and insufficient.”
The facilities have expanded, but “more than 100 injured people, most of them seriously wounded, are still waiting for surgery,” he added.
After her village in Sudan’s Blue Nile state was attacked, Alhida Hammed fled to Renk.
“The houses were burning, and everyone was running in different directions,” she said.
Struggling with Violence
Now with no shelter, she lives under a tree but does not want to return to Sudan.
“The house is no longer a home; it’s full of bad memories.”
South Sudan, unprepared to handle the arrival of thousands of people seeking refuge from war, is struggling with violence, widespread poverty, and natural disasters.
MSF said many of the country’s citizens live in camps set up for internally displaced persons, and many of them are seeing a “worrying and rapid increase” in cholera cases.
“Systemic Neglect”
An outbreak in Unity state has led to the deaths of 92 people, while in Bentiu city, more than 1,210 people were treated in just four weeks.
In the camps near the capital Juba, where tens of thousands live, MSF said it treated nearly 1,700 suspected cases and reported 25 deaths in the community.
Mamman Mustapha, MSF’s Head of Mission in South Sudan, stated, “What we are witnessing is not just a cholera outbreak; it is the result of systemic neglect.”
“Death’s Door”
He described the camps as having “mountains of uncollected waste,” broken toilets, and dirty sewage waters, leaving behind contaminated drinking water and residents “on the brink of death.”
He warned that without urgent action, “we expect cholera cases to rise rapidly in the coming days and weeks.”
