Juba — The ongoing conflict in South Sudan affecting directly the north and the east of the country has diverted attention from ongoing regular healthcare concerns like the malaria epidemic which is affecting the west of the country. There have been insufficient distributions of antimalarial drugs in many peripheral health centres and, as a consequence, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported an increase in the number of severe life-threatening cases.
Every year with the rainy season, mosquitoes multiply in standing water and the number of malaria cases increases. This year the epidemic is particularly widespread in western parts of the country. Unusually prolonged and heavy rainfall in many areas and the lack of available treatments in some peripheral health centres means that many patients have had to travel to MSF health structures to be treated. They arrive after hours or days of travel in serious medical condition.
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