The international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is calling for increased funding to health organizations operating in Jonglei state, as it warns of deteriorating health conditions in remote parts of the state.
In a press statement yesterday, MSF said a visit to Riang, a remote region of Jonglei state last week, revealed that communities there who have been hit badly by months of floods and violence have no access to clean water, safe water storage, latrines, and basic healthcare.
“A worrying 60 percent of the children under the age of five treated in our mobile clinic last week tested positive for malaria; some of them were already in a severe condition. We also saw people suffering from untreated illnesses, including a large number of women with suspected urinary tract infections, which reflects the lack of drinking water,” said MSF emergency coordinator Roberto Wright. “International donors have only ensured funding for other health organizations working in Jonglei until next month, so the situation in the region may quickly deteriorate even further.”
The medical charity said they provided medical consultations to roughly 770 people in Riang and distributed kits containing mosquito nets, blankets, buckets, soap, water purifiers and filters, and plastic sheets and ropes for shelters to over 1,000 families from the 9th to 14th of January.
MSF appealed to international donors to ensure funding continues for other health organizations working in Jonglei state, so that they can provide healthcare and urgent humanitarian assistance, including food, water, and latrines, to people living in remote areas like Riang.
"People living in these villages have to walk more than an hour to reach the nearest free-of-charge healthcare, crossing swamps while carrying patients in baskets or on plastic sheets. During the rainy season, the water levels are so high that only those able to swim can cross the swamps to see a doctor. Meanwhile, those in need of specialized treatment must be carried to the MSF facility in Lankien, a journey of several days and nights walking," MSF statement read in part.