South Sudan: MSF suspends activities following abduction of staff
Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has suspended all operational activities in Yei River and Morobo counties in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State for a minimum of six weeks following the abduction of an MSF staff member.
This happened just four days after the abduction of health ministry staff from an MSF ambulance on the same road and location. Fortunately, our colleague was released some hours later.
The incident occurred during an evacuation of MSF staff from Morobo to Yei amid deteriorating security conditions.
The four-vehicle convoy was stopped by armed gunmen. They 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, head of MSF 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.”
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A disturbing trend
This abduction is part of a disturbing trend of targeted violence on healthcare and aid workers in these counties.
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. 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,” says Dr Ferdinand.
“It is crucial to ensure safe and unobstructed access to populations in need and to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare workers, patients, and medical facilities, before we can consider resuming our activities.”
Local people suffer the most
The residents of Yei River and Morobo counties live in remote and 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 MSF.
This marks the second time MSF has been compelled to reduce provision of medical services in the area in under three months.
In May, we were forced to reduce activities due to escalating insecurity in the area. MSF has also suspended all activities in camps for internally displaced people 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.
MSF in South Sudan
In 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. Between January and June 2025, MSF conducted 14,500 outpatient consultations, 1,192 antenatal consultations, and assisted in 438 maternal deliveries in this area.