“Every time this happens, people lose access to health services, and sometimes to hope,” said Dr. Humphrey Karamagi, the representative of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) in South Sudan. “Health is the last safety network. If it fails, everything else will also fall. “
The apparent air attack in the hospital led by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Old Fangak in the east of Jonglei, killed seven civilians and wounded another 20, according to the UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office (Ocha).
Medical care is not an objective
The attack is the eighth time that medical care has been attacked since January “with killed health workers, essential or destroyed essential facilities and supplies,” said the WHO official journalists in Geneva.
“More attacks can lead to closure Half of health facilities Throughout the Nile, ”he added.
Dr. Karamagi explained that the humanitarian convoys and the essential infrastructure of the cold chain had been criticized, in a moment of growing violence that has impacted civilians since Sudan from the South won independence in 2011, descending shortly after to the civil war.
Since March, tensions have intensified in the state of Alto Nilo, with mortal confrontations between government forces and armed groups. This has uprooted approximately 80,000 people in three of the most affected counties, said the WHO official.
He added that confrontations have also been reported in parts of Western equations, central equations and the states of the unit, which forces communities, “mostly women and children”, to flee to neighboring countries, including 23,000 arrivals in Ethiopia.
Propagation diseases
In South Sudan, cholera outbreaks, malaria, measles and MPOX are extending rapidly, which leads to the UN Health Agency to deploy fast response equipment and coordinate with local partners when possible, in the midst of access restrictions linked to growing violence.
“The alternative, if we do nothing, would be bleak”, The WHO official warned, pointing out cases of anger that can double in just six weeks and measles deaths that could increase by 40 percent.
Cholera has only infected more than 55,000 people since September, killing more than 1,000, said the UN Health Agency.
Condemnation of ‘war crime’
In a related development, the UN Human Rights Commission (OHCHR) in South Sudan condemned bombing as a possible war crime.
“This was not a tragic accident,” said Yasmin Sook, president of the commission. “It was a Calculated and illegal attack to a protected medical center. “
MSF confirmed the complete destruction of the hospital, including its pharmacy and emergency care units. More aerial bombardments were also reported in the new mangok, which increases the fears that such attacks are part of a broader military campaign.
The air attack followed the public threats of the Military Forces of Southern Sudan that demanded the return of the seized ships and labeled multiple majority counties of the majority, including mangok, as “hostile”.
“Appointing entire communities as a hostile is deeply irresponsible and can be equivalent to collective punishment,” said Commissioner Barney Aphako.
Action plea
The UN Commission has urged immediate investigations to the bombing and warned that repeated violations threaten to derail the fragile peace of South Sudan.
With high -level delegations of the African Union and Igad now in the Juba capital, the calls to a renewed dialogue are increasingly strong. “The road where South South is currently is dangerous,” Sooka warned. “If attacks like these continue with impunity, the peace agreement runs the risk of making no sense.”
In his final appeal, Dr. Karamagi emphasized the cost of inaction: “Help us to ensure that this does not become the health of the moment, and hope, finally yields.”
