By Riak Chol

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), known as Doctors Without Borders (MSF), has accused the government of ‘deliberately’ restricting humanitarian access to opposition-held areas of Jonglei State, warning that the move is putting hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk.

In a statement issued this last week, MSF said the restrictions imposed since December 2025 have led to the suspension of all humanitarian flights to key locations including Lankien, Pieri, and Akobo.

The blockade has severely limited the organization’s ability to deliver essential medical supplies, deploy staff, and evacuate critically ill patients.

According to MSF, at least 23 critically ill patients from Lankien and Pieri were in urgent need of medical referrals as of 29 January, with their lives at immediate risk due to the lack of access.

“Patients will die if the government continues to block humanitarian and medical access in Jonglei,” said Abdalla Hussein, MSF Desk Manager for South Sudan.

“Imposing restrictions on humanitarian aid and preventing people from accessing healthcare is a crude political manoeuvre. Ultimately, it is civilians who pay the price. This must stop immediately.”

MSF also raised alarm over what it described as inflammatory rhetoric from some authority figures, warning against statements that appear to encourage mass violence and forced displacement of civilians. Hussein called on the government to urgently reassure the protection of civilians and uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law.

As a result of the restrictions and escalating insecurity, MSF said it has been forced to evacuate staff from Lankien and Akobo and scale down medical services in those areas, as well as in Pieri, to emergency and lifesaving care only. On 29 January, MSF teams in Pieri were compelled to flee the facility amid the imminent threat of armed conflict, discharging most patients and escaping with emergency medical kits alongside local residents.

MSF is currently the sole healthcare provider for approximately 250,000 people in Lankien and Pieri, and an additional 112,000 people in Akobo. The organization warned that nearly 400,000 people could be left without any access to healthcare if humanitarian access is not restored.

“Ongoing conflict and displacement in Jonglei are further increasing the vulnerability of civilians, creating new and urgent humanitarian needs on top of already limited healthcare services,” said Gul Badshah, MSF Operations Manager for South Sudan.

He emphasized that all armed groups and political actors share responsibility for protecting civilians, medical personnel, and health facilities, warning that threats and interference with medical activities place lives at risk.

MSF further cautioned that if it is unable to resupply medical facilities during the current dry season when roads remain passable the humanitarian consequences could be catastrophic.

The organization, which has operated in South Sudan since 1983, remains one of the largest medical humanitarian actors in the country.

In 2025 alone, MSF reported providing more than 830,000 outpatient consultations, inpatient care for over 93,000 patients, including 12,000 surgeries, and screening more than 107,000 children for malnutrition.

MSF called on the South Sudanese government and the international community to urgently prioritize humanitarian access and ensure sustained, predictable conditions for lifesaving operations in Jonglei State, warning that continued restrictions will further deepen an already dire humanitarian crisis.