In South Sudan, MSF is scaling up its aid for people displaced by the conflict in Jonglei and Upper Nile.
In 1 click, help us spread this information :
After escaping the violent attacks that hit Jonglei and Upper Nile, thousands of people have been displaced and live in extreme conditions, forced to survive outside with very little food, water or medical care. The teams of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), present on site, are intensifying their response to the growing humanitarian and health needs in the region.
An escalation of violence between government forces and opposition groups in and around Lankien in Nyirol County, Jonglei State and along the Sobat River in Upper Nile, northeastern South Sudan, has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes.
I have lived through many wars, but this kind of displacement has never happened before,” says 77-year-old Moses, who fled his home in Lankien, Jonglei State, as conflict intensified in.
“I have never seen civilians’ homes burned to ashes on such a scale. We are now living under the trees", he adds.
Many families fled on foot, walking for days, to escape attacks and burned villages. At least 25,000 people have sought refuge in Chuil town, Jonglei, and thousands more are scattered across surrounding villages and swamps. Others have moved to Nyangore and Barmach in Ulang County, Upper Nile, and an additional 28,000 people have arrived in Minkaman, Lakes State. Many had to flee multiple times. People arrive with nothing and are now living outdoors without any shelter, or in makeshift settlements without adequate food, clean water, or health care.
This situation is about life and death, says Nyamai, a mother of three who is living in an informal displacement site in Chuil.
At one point, we survived by boiling leaves from the trees and eating them. We had nothing else. The needs go beyond hospital care and medicine. We need food, water, and shelter. Without these, survival here will not be possible.”
Scaling up activities to support thousands left without care
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is scaling up medical and humanitarian support for people displaced in Ulang County, and in Chuil.
In Chuil, MSF has upgraded the primary health care center (PHCC), increasing capacity to 60 beds to provide emergency care, malnutrition treatment, maternal health services, and trauma stabilization. Since late February, MSF teams have provided 2,200 consultations, admitted 172 patients to Chuil PHCC, and referred 16 for further treatment. Our teams also distributed non-food relief items - including mosquito nets, blankets, soap, jerry cans, sanitary pads, plastic sheeting and empty sandbags - to more than 1,500 families to help them cope with the harsh living conditions, with more distributions to follow. To help with water and sanitation services, MSF is building 300 latrines and constructing a water purification plant.
MSF teams also travel through swamps and rivers by boat to run mobile clinics in Yakuach, Tanakuacha and Pathiel, areas around Chuil. We have provided 1,349 medical consultations and have referred some patients needing higher-level care.
Since early March, in Minkaman, Lakes State, MSF has provided 2,210 consultations to new arrivals from Jonglei through mobile clinics. We have also made medical donations to Minkaman PHCC and are reinforcing their capacity to respond to outbreaks. MSF water and sanitation teams have also drilled two boreholes, repaired broken hand pumps and are rehabilitating the surface water treatment plant and constructing emergency latrines.
Displaced by violence, left without protection
“Humanitarian organizations are increasing activities in Chuil area and in Minkaman, but the response still falls short, and many remote communities remain without life-saving assistance,” said Zakaria Mwatia, MSF Head of Mission in South Sudan. "Without sustained support, the risk of disease outbreaks and further displacement could rapidly escalate into catastrophe.”
Screenings by MSF in Chuil show alarming malnutrition levels: Of 1,263 children under five screened, 54 percent were acutely malnourished, while 21.5 percent of 609 screened pregnant and breastfeeding women were acutely malnourished.
Continued attacks on civilians and health facilities
The crisis is unfolding in a region where access to health care was already limited. In 2025, the MSF-supported hospital in Ulang was looted and destroyed, and just last month, Lankien hospital was bombed, closing the two main referral hospitals for the region.
“We are seeing a deeply alarming pattern of attacks on health facilities and health care workers, alongside violence against civilians,” said Tuna Turkmen, MSF emergency project coordinator. “Chuil now hosts a large number of civilians who have fled fighting, including women, children, and the elderly. It also provides one of the few functioning health facilities in the area, and many aid organizations are coordinating their medical and humanitarian activities from there. It is essential that communities can access these services, and that humanitarian and medical workers can carry out their work safely and without restriction.”
“In swampy areas around Lankien, thousands remain in dire conditions, still waiting for assistance,” said Turkmen. “People continue to arrive every day. Displaced MSF medical staff there are doing everything they can, but patients die due to lack of medicine. MSF has requested access from local authorities, so far without success.”
Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare, must never be targeted; direct attacks against them constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law.