Situation highlights
The health situation across the Republic of South Sudan remains fragile and unpredictable. There are high risks of communicable diseases, floods and drought, low access to safe drinking water, food insecurity, and poor sanitation. Environmental factors contribute to the spread of diseases such as water and vector-borne diseases like diarrhoeal diseases, hepatitis, malaria and dengue fever.
Population displacements and movements secondary to internal and external conflict compound the public health threats. According to UNHCR there are 223 888 registered refugees in the Republic of South Sudan. Since the start of January, about 4700 people returned to the Republic of South Sudan from the Sudan (OCHA, February 2013).
Measles, meningitis and hepatitis E were the most common epidemic-prone diseases recorded in April. The hepatitis E outbreak was mainly concentrated in refugee camps in Upper Nile and Unity states with 662 cases and 12 deaths registered. In April, 154 cases of measles (no deaths) were registered across the country.