South Sudan’s Healthcare System Collapses Amidst Corruption and Conflict. Juba, South Sudan — South Sudan’s healthcare system is on the brink of collapse, with years of corruption and ongoing conflict exacerbating the crisis. This was highlighted recently when Riek Gai Kok, the governor of Jonglei state, had to travel to Kenya for treatment after experiencing high blood pressure, a situation described by humanitarians as a stark example of the country’s failing services.
Governance issues and corruption have been persistent challenges in South Sudan, which Transparency International ranks as the most corrupt country in the world. This corruption has had a severe impact on the healthcare system, with the country now largely reliant on foreign aid for its health services. Over 80 percent of healthcare in South Sudan is provided by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
In Juba’s military hospital, soldiers and civilians alike are left with little hope for medical care.
A soldier, Ajuong Deng, 33, was amazed to have been airlifted to the hospital, remarking that most wounded are left to die.
The ICRC, which treats him at their facility within the hospital, provides staff with “incentives “as government salaries have not been paid for months.
The situation is dire. Clinicians at the hospital fear that the wounded will soon be drawn back into the country’s cycles of violence. Angeth Jervas Majok, the ICRC’s head physiotherapist, recounted a patient who returned to the hospital four times before succumbing to his injuries.
With only 300 kilometers of paved roads, many impassable during the rainy season, wounds often become infected before reaching a doctor, leading to amputations. Despite receiving $1. 4 billion in foreign aid in 2024, the highest amount globally as a share of GDP, life expectancy in South Sudan remains at 58 years, according to the World Bank.
Maternal mortality is alarmingly high at 1,223 per 100,000 births, and one in 10 children do not reach their fifth birthday. South Sudan’s oil revenues have exceeded $25 billion since 2011, yet only one percent of this year’s budget was allocated to health.
The UN has warned that the country is on the verge of “all-out civil war, “with over 5,100 civilians killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in the past year.
The ICRC has warned that it plans to “draw down progressively “in one facility while reinforcing local capacity.
The government has admitted to liquidity “difficulties “but has not provided a timeline for resolving the issue.
Meanwhile, NGOs are pulling back as donations fall and patience with South Sudan’s leaders runs thin.
Further details are expected as the situation continues to unfold.
