By Lodu William Odiya
Medicines San Frontiers (MSF) has yesterday temporarily suspended all its operational activities in Yei River and Morobo counties in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State for a minimum of six weeks.
This followed the abduction of an MSF staff member, that occurred just four days after the abduction of health ministry staff from an MSF ambulance on the same road and location.
According to statement from MSF, the incident occurred during an evacuation of their staff from Morobo to Yei amid deteriorating security conditions.
The statement noted the four-vehicle convoy was stopped by armed gunmen and ordered the MSF staff member, who was serving as the team leader of the convoy, out of the vehicle and pulled him into the thickets, while allowing the other vehicles and staff to proceed to Yei.
“We are outraged by this targeted attack. Attacks on humanitarian workers serving the most vulnerable members of the society must stop,” says Dr. Ferdinand Atte, MSF’s head of mission in South Sudan.
“While we are deeply committed to providing care to those in need, we cannot keep our staff working in an unsafe environment.” Statement read.
The statement emphasized the abduction was part of a disturbing trend of targeted violence on healthcare and aid workers in these counties.
It also stated that in just three months, several incidents of violence targeting aid workers and healthcare facilities have been reported in Morobo, including forceful abductions, arson, violent looting of hospitals, and damage to medical infrastructure.
The statement further underlined seven of these incidents involved the abduction of aid workers.
“We demand accountability and concrete guarantees from the authorities and all parties involved in the conflict, including armed groups in Morobo and Yei River counties. It is crucial to ensure safe and unobstructed access to populations in need to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare workers, patients, and medical facilities, before we can consider resuming our activities,” Dr. Ferdinand adds.
The statement also highlighted that the residents of Yei River and Morobo counties live in remote , hard-to-reach areas, frequently cut off from essential services due to limited infrastructure and armed conflict.
As a result, they heavily rely on humanitarian organisations like Medicines’ San Frontiers (MSF) for essential services.
According to reports, this marks the second time MSF has been compelled to reduce provision of medical services in the area in under three months.
The statement stated that In May, they were forced to reduce activities due to escalating insecurity in the area.
MSF had also suspended all activities in camps for internally displaced persons due to the relentless violence in Morobo County.
Today, MSF had to take the difficult decision to suspend all activities in both counties, until further notice, adding to the growing number of projects and health facilities MSF has had to close this year as a result of attacks.
“MSF is one of the few medical organisations providing support to various healthcare facilities in this area. When such attacks occur, it is the local people who suffer the most, as it severely undermines their access to essential healthcare,” Dr Ferdinand adds.
According to the statement, Yei River and Morobo counties, MSF provides primary healthcare services by supporting four Ministry of Health facilities, offering outpatient consultations, routine vaccinations, and maternal and child healthcare.
MSF also conducts mobile clinics and supports community-based healthcare through the Boma Health Initiative program in the area.