South Sudan: Gunshot victims seek care after Ethiopia-South Sudan border violence

29 April 2016
South Sudan: Gunshot victims seek care after Ethiopia-South Sudan border violence
In Maiwut, the ICRC began working at the County Hospital in December 2014. As the only functioning health facility in this part of Greater Upper Nile region, the structure allows nearly 80,000 people to gain access to medical and surgical care.Yamila Castro/ICRC-2015

Juba – More than three dozen victims of violence have sought assistance at an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)-supported hospital in Maiwut. The health facility is now providing medical and surgical care to the wounded of recent attacks near Gambella, Ethiopia, where nearly 200 people were killed and more than 100 children abducted.

Many of the 39 men, women and children admitted to the hospital are suffering from gunshot injuries as a result of the mid-April clashes along the Ethiopia-South Sudan border.

"The team has been working nonstop to deal with the influx of patients," said Chiyuki Yoshida, the ICRC hospital project manager in Maiwut. "Overcrowding is a challenge since the hospital also continues to receive people affected by severe malnutrition, malaria and violence occurring elsewhere in South Sudan."

Maiwut hospital is located in the Upper Nile region about 20 kilometers from Gambella. It is the only medical facility in the region providing surgical and advanced health care to the nearly 80,000 people living there.

The ICRC currently supports seven medical and primary health care facilities in South Sudan. Since January this year our teams have performed more than 1,600 surgeries.

For further information, please contact:
Yamila Castro, ICRC Juba +211 912 360 038 / +211 923 158 196
Jason Straziuso, ICRC Nairobi +254 733 622 026