Conflict pushes South Sudan's healthcare system to breaking point

South Sudan's worsening conflict is placing enormous pressure on the country's healthcare system, with the International Committee of the Red Cross reporting a 50 percent rise in medical evacuations during the first half of 2026.

Fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and opposition groups aligned with rival Riek Machar has left thousands of civilians cut off from essential healthcare, forcing critically injured patients to be flown to Juba Military Hospital for emergency treatment.

The Red Cross says the growing violence, combined with shrinking humanitarian funding, has reduced healthcare services across the country and placed increasing strain on referral hospitals.

Medical teams are now responding to mass casualty incidents, with specialist nurses triaging the most critically wounded before evacuating them by air, while others wait for transport as resources remain stretched.

The organisation says surgeries at Juba Military Hospital have risen sharply this year as attacks have forced several aid-run hospitals to close, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people with limited access to lifesaving care.

South Sudan gained independence in 2011, but civil war soon erupted between rival factions. Although a 2018 peace agreement reduced the fighting, the latest resurgence of violence is threatening to unravel those fragile gains and deepen one of Africa's most severe humanitarian crises.