Juba- 18 June 2024- The ongoing war in Sudan is drastically increasing people’s needs across the border in South Sudan, says Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). MSF calls 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 one of the world’s largest displacement crises, with more than 10 million people forced to flee their homes. More than 680,000 people have arrived in South Sudan since April last year, at a time when the country’s health system and existing humanitarian assistance can barely meet its people’s needs. In the coming months, the pressure on health services and aid organisations is likely to increase, with an estimated seven million people predicted to be without access to sufficient food by July.

Renk in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state is located around 60 kilometres from Joda, the official entry point for people fleeing the war. Around 13,000 refugees and returnees are currently stranded in and around the town’s transit center. The number fluctuates depending on the onward movements; either they wait to be able to continue their journeys across South Sudan or return home to Sudan. Living conditions are dire, and they have limited food, water, 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. Aid agencies provide them with money to buy food for seven days, but many people find themselves stuck at Renk transit centre 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 cattle herder who has been staying in Renk transit centre since December 2023.

Before April 2023, 30 to 50 severely malnourished children were admitted each month to the inpatient malnutrition treatment centre at MSF’s hospital in Malakal town. Since the outbreak of war in Sudan, the number of severely malnourished children admitted to the facility has increased by 200 per cent. Children who are malnourished are more vulnerable to other life-threatening diseases.

Also Read: Are Sudan’s children facing a critical malnutrition crisis, as warned by UN agencies?

“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 Dr Eltigani Osman, MSF medical coordinator.

Aid organisations 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 Iqbal Huda, MSF head of mission. “We urgently call on international donors to allocate funding to address the needs of the returnees, refugees, and host communities 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.”