Since September, climate change-fueled flooding in South Sudan has affected approximately 1.4 million people and forcibly displaced more than 379,000. The escalating crisis has led to increased rates of malnutrition, diarrhoea and malaria among children and women. International Medical Corps, which has been providing vital services in South Sudan for nearly 30 years, quickly responded to the crisis.
“When people are displaced by conflict or natural disaster, the chaos and trauma that ensues can immediately affect their health,” says Dr. Stephen Yor, International Medical Corps’ Field Site Manager in Malakal, South Sudan. “In addition, when people drink unclean floodwater and use it to clean, cook and wash their clothes, infectious diseases spread rapidly. If those diseases—such as diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections—are not treated, they can lead to severe acute malnutrition and even death.”
Our health workers are travelling across Fashoda, Panyikang and Pigi counties—the areas hit hardest by the flooding—to provide healthcare consultations and medicines, screen for malnutrition, address mental health needs and much more.
International Medical Corps deployed an emergency response team to flood-affected villages in Panyikang county, where our team provides medical services—including nutrition screening, using mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measurements to help determine whether someone is malnourished.
Nyanthon Monybul, 57, was forced to leave her flooded home in Dolieb village. She now lives in an abandoned school nearby that was closed due to the flooding.
“My crops were destroyed by water,” Monybul explains. “I do not know when I will have to move again.”
“I now stay at my brother’s home nearby, but that has almost been taken by the floodwater,” explains Mabek Chol, a 57-year-old resident of Dolieb who was forced to leave his home. “Everyone is hungry.”
Mary Nyawat saved what belongings she could before the nearby dike was breached and floodwater inundated her home, where she lives with 10 other people.
“The flood happened so fast—and now we have the rainy season still ahead of us,” says Nyawat.
As the climate crisis increases the number and intensity of major weather events worldwide, International Medical Corps continues to address the effects head-on, helping communities prepare for the next emergency. Learn more from our newest report: Advancing International Medical Corps’ Comprehensive Climate Response: The Year in Review.
To help us continue to support the world’s most vulnerable people affected by extreme weather and other disasters, donate to International Medical Corps today.