The ongoing war in Sudan is drastically increasing people’s needs across the border in South Sudan, the international medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned on Tuesday.
In a statement extended to this publication, MSF also appealed for an immediate scale-up of lifesaving aid for refugees and returnees fleeing the war and for the communities hosting them.
“The war in Sudan, which began in April 2023, has created the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 10 million people forced to flee their homes. More than 680,000 people have arrived in South Sudan since last April, at a time when the country’s health system and existing humanitarian assistance can barely meet its population’s needs,” the statement read in part. “In the coming months, the pressure on health services and aid organizations is likely to increase, with an estimated seven million people predicted to be without access to sufficient food by July.”
According to MSF, some 13,000 refugees and returnees who fled the war in Sudan are currently stranded in and around the transit center in Renk in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State where living conditions are dire and they have limited food, water, and shelter, sanitation facilities and medical care.
Many of those who arrive at the border are injured and acutely malnourished, having walked for weeks to reach safety. Currently, aid agencies provide them with money to buy food for seven days, but many people find themselves stuck at the Renk Transit Center for weeks or even months, as they wait for transport to continue their journeys.
“Sometimes we manage to eat twice a day, but usually we only eat breakfast, and we go to bed at night with empty stomachs, even the youngest ones,” says Dak Denj, a 70-year-old cattle herder who has been staying in Renk transit center since December 2023.
Around 300 kilometers from Renk, thousands of refugees and returnees are living in Bulukat Transit Centre, near Malakal town. Shortages of food, water, shelter, and proper sanitation have led to increases in illnesses such as diarrhea and respiratory infections, according to MSF medical teams.
“Malnutrition increases the risk of infection, particularly among children under five, who are more likely to die from diseases such as meningitis, measles, yellow fever, cholera, and malaria,” says MSF medical coordinator Dr. Eltigani Osman.
“Water shortages across the region are forcing people to collect water from rivers. Drinking untreated water, which may be contaminated, poses additional health risks, particularly in a region prone to cholera outbreaks,” the statement said. “These risks are likely to increase with the approaching rainy season, which is expected to cause serious flooding across the region, contaminating wells and boreholes and hindering the humanitarian response. Flooding on the Sudanese side of the border could push even
more people to flee to South Sudan.”
Aid organizations are currently struggling to respond to the crisis and assist everyone in need. Since April 2023, MSF has been running a clinic
at the main border crossing and two mobile clinics around Renk and Bulukat, which treat around 190 patients each day, as well as supporting Renk Hospital. However, this is not enough, and the scale of the crisis demands a much larger international response.
“The humanitarian response remains inadequate to the reality of the needs, in a context where there is already considerable strain on the health system,” says MSF head of mission Iqbal Huda. “We urgently call on international donors to allocate funding to address the needs of the returnees, refugees, and host populations in South Sudan. This must
include the provision of food, water, shelter, sanitation, and medical care, as well as the means for people to continue their journeys.”