Close to one million people will likely have no access to healthcare services due to lack of humanitarian funding come next month, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) South Sudan has warned.

“More than 800 000 people in South Sudan might lose access to health services if humanitarian funding is not met,” IOM tweeted on Tuesday morning.

However, the organisation has not indicated how much is needed to meet the health demand in the country.

It normally injects over US$ 744,000 each month to enable healthcare service delivery to the population in remote parts pf the South Sudan, and people in former UNMISS Protection Sites of Civilians (POC).

Dire situation

South Sudan has been facing complex challenges including fragile health situation where populations live with no access to life-saving health services even before the flood and COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

“Our capacity to respond depends on the availability of resources. Should we have to withdraw our services, we could have an even bigger humanitarian crisis on our hands,” Peter Van Dar Auweraert, IOM’s Chief of Mission in South Sudan said.

IOM has been a frontline healthcare provider across the country as well as providing nutrition services to the acutely malnourished children in the Upper Nile, Jonglei and parts of the Equatoria region.