Malnutrition deals a double blow to people with HIV and TB in South Sudan

Inside Doctors Without Borders facilities, Gatkuoth, a new patient, shares the same challenges. “I had TB four years ago, and at that time I completed treatment quite easily. Now that the situation is deteriorating, it’s much harder because I have no food. Sometimes it’s so bad that I wonder why I kill myself with the pain, maybe I’d rather die from the disease.”

South Sudan’s Leer County is a fairly isolated place, and is prone to heavy flooding and recurrent insecurity. For several years, people have been reluctant to cultivate their land for fear of losing it all during rainy season floods. They depend either on the food available on the market, which inflation has made increasingly difficult to afford, or on food assistance, which has been reduced considerably due to budget cuts.

On top of that, displacement from war-torn Sudan is putting further pressure on food supplies in the area and increasing health care needs. Since April 2023, more than 60,000 people have settled in Unity State, including refugees and South Sudanese returnees.