fter resuming operations in South Sudan, ALIMA has launched medical and nutrition activities in Akobo, Jonglei State, one of the areas hosting the largest displaced population in the country, where access to healthcare has been severely disrupted.
South Sudan remains one of the world’s most acute humanitarian emergencies. In 2026, 10 million people need humanitarian assistance and 2.5 million are internally displaced, while 1.4 million more have crossed into the country from Sudan. The country records the highest maternal and under-five mortality rates in the world, and less than half of its health facilities (816 out of 1,988) are still operational. With only 3.5 skilled health workers per 10,000 people and more than half the population living over 5 km from a facility, distance alone can decide whether a mother or child reaches care.
Jonglei concentrates these pressures. The state carries the country’s highest number of internally displaced people: 261,578, including 86,082 in Akobo county, alongside 95,296 returnees. More than 500,000 children in Jonglei need treatment for acute malnutrition.
“In Akobo, the health system hasn’t simply weakened, it has stopped working. All 15 facilities in the county have been affected, in one of the areas hosting the largest displaced population in the country. That is exactly where a medical organisation has to be.” said John Joseph OCHEIBI, ALIMA Head of Mission in South Sudan.
In Akobo, national fragility has tipped into collapse. All 15 health facilities in the county have been affected by looting or disruption; the main referral structure, Akobo Hospital, is only partially functional. Most have no working cold chain and face severe shortages of medicines, equipment, beds and electricity. Feeding services for malnutrition have been interrupted in several locations.
Against this, ALIMA is deploying a mix of fixed and mobile care. Two primary healthcare centers are being supported to provide outpatient consultations, antenatal and postnatal care, basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care, and referrals. Mobile clinics reach four outreach sites with consultations, maternal care and health promotion, since the beginning of August 2026.
The health burden in Akobo is heavy on every front: men, women and children suffer from malaria, acute watery diarrhoea and cholera, respiratory infections and malnutrition. Damaged water systems are pushing communities toward unsafe river water, raising the risk of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea, while disrupted markets and high prices weaken households already under strain.
Community screenings have found high levels of both severe and moderate acute malnutrition. ALIMA’s nutrition teams screen for early detection, treat children with uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition on site, refer complicated cases for further care, and run nutrition education for caregivers, restoring the outpatient, supplementary and stabilization services that had been interrupted across the county.
“Our screenings are finding severe and moderate malnutrition. The point is to catch these children early, treat the ones we can where they are, and get the most fragile to the care they need in time.”said Dr. Abass Assoumane, ALIMA Medical Coordinator in Akobo.
Reaching Akobo’s population is a challenge in itself. The county’s swampy terrain makes vehicle movement all but impossible, so teams travel almost entirely by speedboat along the river. As the rainy season sets in, even that narrows: movement will increasingly depend on boat or on foot.
“Here, access shapes everything. Our teams reach communities almost entirely by boat, and the rains will make even that harder. For thousands of children, mothers and families, our mobile clinics and health centers are, for now, one of the only ways back to care.”said Dr. Abass Assoumane, ALIMA Medical Coordinator in Akobo.
In only one month (August 2026):
6,616 people received medical consultations, of which 4,182 through mobile clinics.
134 patients received psychosocial support, and 483 people took part in group therapy sessions.
475 women received an antenatal care consultation, of which 180 through mobile clinics.
29 deliveries were carried out by skilled birth attendants.
3,270 people received awareness-raising sessions on various health topics (malaria, environmental hygiene, etc.).
ALIMA’s activities in Akobo are made possible thanks to the financial support of the Crisis and Support Centre (CDCS) of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
