MSF Reduces Medical Outreach in Yei Due to Insecurity

By Simon Deng

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the international medical charity, has scaled back its outreach activities in Yei River County due to rising insecurity following an incident involving its staff.

“Due to increased insecurity, MSF has made the difficult decision to reduce outreach medical activities around Yei, Central Equatoria State, South Sudan, until further notice,” MSF said in a press release issued in Juba on Tuesday.

MSF noted that the reduced outreach medical activities are a critical lifeline for people in remote areas with little or no access to primary healthcare in Yei River County.

The organization has called on all armed groups to uphold their responsibilities under international humanitarian law and to respect the provision of medical and humanitarian assistance.

“We are deeply concerned about the impact this reduction will have on vulnerable communities. MSF urges all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians and guarantee unhindered access to medical and humanitarian assistance for all people,” it said.

MSF’s operations have recently been affected by conflict, including the looting of its hospital on April 14, 2025, in Ulang County of Upper Nile State, and another hospital being bombed, which led to the destruction of its pharmacy on May 3, 2025, in Old Fangak of Jonglei State.

Since 1983, MSF teams in South Sudan have been providing services including general healthcare, mental healthcare, specialist hospital care, and health assistance to displaced people and remote communities in six locations across the country.