S Sudan's health system devastated

SOUTH Sudan's healthcare system has been so crippled by years of corruption that when a state governor experienced high blood pressure recently, he had to fly to Kenya for treatment.

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A NURSE guides a patient through exercises in Juba Military Hospital. What little healthcare exists in South Sudan is almost entirely through foreign donors, with more than 80% covered by NGOs.

(AFP)

Riek Gai Kok is the governor of Jonglei state, where conflict has once again exploded between government and opposition parties.

His trip to Nairobi was recounted by humanitarians as yet another example of how South Sudan’s elite, ranked the most corrupt in the world by Transparency International, have allowed services in the country to collapse.

As the country tips back into civil war between rival parties, what little healthcare exists is almost entirely through foreign donors, with more than 80% provided by NGOs like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

In a hospital in Juba, a soldier said he was amazed to have been airlifted to hospital since most wounded are left to die.