SOUTH SUDAN: MSF strongly condemns deliberate bombing of its hospital in Old Fangak, Jonglei State

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) strongly condemns the bombing of its hospital in Old Fangak, South Sudan.

The attack began at around 04:30 AM on 03 May when two helicopter gunships first dropped a bomb on the MSF pharmacy, burning it to the ground, then went on to fire on the town of Old Fangak for around 30 minutes. At around 7 AM, a drone bombed the Old Fangak market. There have been at least seven deaths and 20 injuries.

Mamman Mustapha, MSF Head of Mission in South Sudan, said, “At 8 AM, we received around 20 wounded people at our hospital in Old Fangak, including four in a critical condition. There are reports of more fatalities and wounded in the community. One patient and two caregivers, including one of our staff, who were already inside the hospital, were injured in the bombing. Patients who were not in a critical condition ran from the facility.

The bombing of our hospital in Old Fangak has resulted in significant damage, including the complete destruction of the pharmacy, which was burned to the ground. This is where all our medical supplies for the hospital and our outreach activities were stored, severely compromising our ability to provide care. We strongly condemn this attack, which took place despite the geolocations of all MSF structures, including Old Fangak Hospital, being shared with all parties to the conflict.

“Old Fangak Hospital is the only hospital in Fangak county, serving a population of over 110,000 people who already had extremely limited access to healthcare. We are still assessing the full extent of the damage and the impact on our ability to provide care, but this attack clearly means people will now be even further cut-off from receiving life-saving treatment. We call on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure – this includes health workers, patients and health facilities. Hospitals must never be targeted and the lives of civilians must be protected.”

This is the second time an MSF hospital has been impacted since the past month, following the armed looting of our hospital and premises in Ulang, Upper Nile state on April 14, which led to the entire population of Ulang county being cut off from accessing secondary health care.

Since 2014, MSF has been providing secondary healthcare services in Fangak County, a remote area where people struggle to access medical care due to flooding, insecurity, and displacement. The hospital supported by MSF is the only facility serving a population of over 110,000 people in Fangak County.

Many patients travel for days by canoe to reach it, particularly during the rainy season when extreme flooding isolates entire communities.

In South Sudan, MSF works in six of the country’s 10 states and in two administrative areas, providing a range of services including general healthcare, mental healthcare and specialist hospital care. Our mobile teams also provide health assistance to displaced people and remote communities. In addition to responding to emergencies and disease outbreaks, we also carry out preventative activities, such as vaccination campaigns, seasonal malaria chemoprevention, safe drinking water and distribution of non-food items.

MSF Old Fangak hospital, South Sudan

MSF Old Fangak hospital, South Sudan

MSF Old Fangak hospital, South SudanMSF Old Fangak hospital, South Sudan

Jane Rabothata

Communications Specialist, Doctors Without Borders

• jane.rabothata@joburg.msf.org
• 0712873613

About Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is a global network of principled medical and other professionals who specialise in medical humanitarian work, driven by our common humanity and guided by medical ethics. We strive to bring emergency medical care to people caught in conflicts, crises, and disasters in more than 70 countries worldwide.

In South Africa, the organisation is recognised as one of the pioneers of providing Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) in the public sector and started the first HIV programmes in South Africa in 1999. Until today, the focus of MSF’s interventions in the country has primarily been on developing new testing and treatment strategies for HIV/AIDS and TB in Eshowe (Kwa-Zulu Natal) and Khayelitsha (Western Cape).

In Tshwane, we run a migration project, and we offer medical and psychosocial care to migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, who struggle to access public health services under South Africa’s increasingly restrictive.

Previously we offered free, high-quality, confidential medical care to survivors of SGBV in Rustenburg.

To learn more about our work in South Africa, please visit this page on our website (www.msf.org.za). To support MSF’s work: