Skip to main content
MSF hospital in Doro refugee camp

MSF suspends the majority of medical activities in Maban area after a violent attack

War in Gaza:: find out how we're responding
Learn more

Juba – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has suspended most of its activities in Maban, South Sudan, after suffering a violent attack on Monday 23 July. 

A group of unidentified armed men broke into the MSF office and compound in the morning, looting the organisation’s and staff’s property, burning down a tent full of equipment, and destroying most of the vehicles and communication devices. No MSF staff were physically injured during the attack. The team is now safe and the organisation is currently monitoring the situation.

The attack has forced MSF to suspend the majority of its medical support to the host communities and the refugee population in the Maban area. In this area, MSF operates a primary and secondary healthcare hospital in Doro refugee camp and ensures primary healthcare consultations in Bunj State hospital.

“Despite the attack to our facilities, our team on the ground will ensure lifesaving treatment for patients suffering from the most critical medical conditions,” says Samuel Theodore, MSF head of mission in South Sudan. “However, as the safety of healthcare personnel and facilities cannot be guaranteed, we have no other choice but to suspend the rest of our activities, which will leave 88,000 people with limited access to much needed medical services.”

MSF condemns this brutal attack and calls for the respect and protection of humanitarian workers and health facilities. 

MSF has been working in Maban since 2011, providing healthcare to host communities and refugee populations in Doro refugee camp and, in collaboration with local authorities, inside Bunj State hospital. From January to June 2018, MSF provided 84,869 outpatient consultations, assisted 1,317 deliveries, and treated 4,971 patients for malaria and 905 children for malnutrition. 

Up Next
South Sudan
Press Release 31 May 2018