South Sudan: MSF warns of health crisis amid looming floods

South Sudan: MSF warns of health crisis amid looming floods

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Floods in South Sudan, July 2024 Photo: @SudansPost

July 19, 2024 Time: 8:03 PM

Joe Aumuller, MSF epidemiologist and operations manager, said floodwaters could destroy schools, homes, health facilities and water sources, limiting access to basic services and livelihoods.

On Friday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that looming floods in South Sudan could worsen food insecurity and undermine access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities for already vulnerable citizens.

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According to the international medical charity, recent forecasts indicate that there is a greater chance of heavier than normal rainfall and large amounts of water from Lake Victoria and the Jinja Dam flowing into the Nile, which could cause massive flooding.

Joe Aumuller, MSF epidemiologist and operations manager, said floodwaters could destroy schools, homes, health facilities and water sources, limiting access to basic services and livelihoods.

Aumuller expects that more than 5.4 million people will live in flood-affected areas by 2024. Rainfall is expected to be heavier from July to October.

“The projected increase in rainfall in 2024 is deeply concerning given the number of people at risk in flood-prone areas, the threats to water, sanitation and hygiene, and the risk of transmission of water-borne and vector-borne diseases,” Aumuller said in a statement released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

More than 740,000 refugees and returnees from Sudan join the nearly 2 million displaced in South Sudan, according to the medical charity, while access to health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene services is being restricted by budget cuts.

Children living in refugee camps in Bentiu town, Unity State, are facing food shortages. Nearly 19 percent of children under five screened in June were found to be acutely malnourished, while 6 percent were suffering from severe acute malnutrition, Doctors Without Borders said.

During the widespread flooding in 2021 and 2022, MSF reported an increase in cases of diarrhea among children under five in Bentiu IDP camp, with the number of cases rising from 2,300 in 2020 to an average of 5,200 before declining to 2,400 in 2023 as the floods began to recede. MSF added that stagnant water created by flooding also provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes, increasing the risk of malaria, the leading cause of illness and death among children under five in South Sudan.

Ibrahim Muhammad, MSF head of mission in South Sudan, said the expected floods could lead to displacement, losses of crops and livestock, disruption of aid delivery and an increase in disease outbreaks such as hepatitis E, which has become endemic in some parts of South Sudan.

Muhammad said South Sudanese leaders and international aid agencies must take proactive measures to protect civilians from the devastating effects of flooding.

“It is very clear that South Sudan needs support to cope with extreme flooding and further impacts of climate change. Let us hope that the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development talks will make this a reality for South Sudan, otherwise the cost of human lives will continue to rise,” Muhammad said.

Author: OSG

Source: DW-The Independent

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