Latest news with #ChristopherNyamandi
New York Times
11-04-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Children Seeking Cholera Care Die After U.S. Cuts Aid, Charity Says
At least five children and three adults with cholera died as they went in search of treatment in South Sudan after aid cuts by the Trump administration shuttered local health clinics during the country's worst cholera outbreak in decades, the international charity Save the Children reported this week. The victims, all from the country's east, died on a grueling three-hour walk in scorching heat as they tried to reach the nearest remaining health facility, the agency said in a statement. The American aid cuts, put into effect by the Trump administration in January, forced 7 of 27 health facilities supported by Save the Children across Akobo County to close and 20 others to partly cease operations, the charity said in a statement. Some clinics are now run only by volunteers, and they no longer have the means to transport sick patients to hospitals. In an interview on Thursday, Christopher Nyamandi, Save the Children's country director for South Sudan, said he had visited a health clinic in Akobo County that was providing nutrition assistance and helping with the cholera response shortly after the cuts were announced. The scene he described was dire. Tents that were supposed to hold 25 people were crammed with hundreds, he said. People were sleeping outside, facing exposure to mosquitoes and withering heat while they tried recovering from cholera. Mr. Nyamandi said health care workers on the scene described 'how difficult it is to manage the situation where people are just out there. And when somebody dies,' he added, the workers can only 'try to protect the children from seeing that scene.' Cholera is caused by the ingestion of contaminated food or water and is often prevalent in areas where people are living in cramped conditions and amid poor sanitation. The disease can cause death by dehydration but is easily treated with medication that costs pennies. South Sudan is in the midst of its worst cholera outbreak in two decades, the United Nation's Children's Fund said in a March statement. More than 47,000 suspected and confirmed cases have been reported there since September 2024, according to data from the World Health Organization. The United States spent $760 million on aid for South Sudan in 2023, and the Trump administration's aid cuts have worsened an already bleak humanitarian situation in a young nation teetering on the brink of war. The Department of Government Efficiency, headed by the South Africa-born billionaire Elon Musk, has gutted the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has been Washington's primary distributor of foreign aid for decades. The State Department has been charged with taking over U.S.A.I.D.'s remaining responsibilities by mid-August. U.S.A.I.D. and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. South Sudan has been dependent on foreign aid since its independence in 2011, and people there face the compounding tragedies of war and malnutrition, making cholera outbreaks even more deadly. With the country plagued by widespread instability and lack of infrastructure, Mr. Nyamandi said he believes the number of cholera deaths are being underreported and are likely to rise with the aid cuts. 'The sudden withdrawal of funding that was the key to the survival of vulnerable families and children is going to result in more deaths,' he said.
MTV Lebanon
09-04-2025
- Health
- MTV Lebanon
South Sudanese Children Die as US Aid Cuts Shutter Medical Services
Eight people, including five children, have died after walking for three hours in blistering heat to seek treatment for cholera in South Sudan's eastern Jonglei state, as United States aid cuts forced local health facilities to close. The United Kingdom-based global charity Save the Children revealed last month's deaths on Wednesday, saying they were among the first directly linked to cuts ordered by US President Donald Trump, who slashed funding for global health programmes under his 'America First' policy after taking office on January 20. Save the Children had supported 27 health centres in Jonglei State until this year, when US cuts forced seven to close entirely and 20 to scale back operations, laying off about 200 staff of almost 600 nationwide. A US-funded transport service that took patients to hospital was also shut down due to a lack of funds, forcing the eight cholera patients to walk for hours in nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) heat to reach medical care. 'There should be global moral outrage that the decisions made by powerful people in other countries have led to child deaths in just a matter of weeks,' said Christopher Nyamandi, Save the Children's country director in South Sudan. Experts have warned that the funding cuts – including the cancellation of more than 90 percent of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts – could lead to millions of deaths from malnutrition, AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the years ahead. The US State Department said it had no information about the reported deaths. A spokesperson insisted that many US-funded humanitarian projects in South Sudan remained operational but accused the country's leadership of misusing foreign aid. 'While emergency lifesaving programmes continue, we will not, in good conscience, ask the American taxpayer to provide assistance that effectively subsidises the irresponsible and corrupt behaviour of South Sudan's political leaders,' said the spokesperson cited by the Reuters news agency. South Sudan's government has admitted to widespread corruption but denies specific allegations of graft, including against President Salva Kiir's family. Due to corruption concerns, humanitarian aid is mostly delivered through nongovernmental organisations. Besides US funding cuts, declining contributions from other donors have further weakened South Sudan's humanitarian response. Save the Children's budget for the country is expected to drop to $30m this year from $50m last year. More than a third of South Sudan's 12 million people have been displaced by conflict or natural disasters. The United Nations has warned that fighting in the northeast could push the country towards a new civil war. A cholera outbreak was declared in South Sudan in October last year, with about 40,000 cases and 700 deaths recorded between September to March, according to the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF. About half of those stricken by the disease are children under 15, UNICEF has said. Cholera is an acute form of diarrhoea that is treatable with antibiotics and hydration, but can kill within hours if left untreated. It is caused by a germ typically transmitted through a lack of access to sanitation. People become infected when they swallow food or water carrying the bug.
Al Jazeera
09-04-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
South Sudanese children die as US aid cuts shutter medical services: NGO
Eight people, including five children, have died after walking for three hours in blistering heat to seek treatment for cholera in South Sudan's eastern Jonglei state, as United States aid cuts forced local health facilities to close. The United Kingdom-based global charity Save the Children revealed last month's deaths on Wednesday, saying they were among the first directly linked to cuts ordered by US President Donald Trump, who slashed funding for global health programmes under his 'America First' policy after taking office on January 20. Save the Children had supported 27 health centres in Jonglei State until this year, when US cuts forced seven to close entirely and 20 to scale back operations, laying off about 200 staff of almost 600 nationwide. A US-funded transport service that took patients to hospital was also shut down due to a lack of funds, forcing the eight cholera patients to walk for hours in nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) heat to reach medical care. 'There should be global moral outrage that the decisions made by powerful people in other countries have led to child deaths in just a matter of weeks,' said Christopher Nyamandi, Save the Children's country director in South Sudan. Experts have warned that the funding cuts – including the cancellation of more than 90 percent of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts – could lead to millions of deaths from malnutrition, AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the years ahead. The US State Department said it had no information about the reported deaths. A spokesperson insisted that many US-funded humanitarian projects in South Sudan remained operational but accused the country's leadership of misusing foreign aid. 'While emergency lifesaving programmes continue, we will not, in good conscience, ask the American taxpayer to provide assistance that effectively subsidises the irresponsible and corrupt behaviour of South Sudan's political leaders,' said the spokesperson cited by the Reuters news agency. South Sudan's government has admitted to widespread corruption but denies specific allegations of graft, including against President Salva Kiir's family. Due to corruption concerns, humanitarian aid is mostly delivered through nongovernmental organisations. Besides US funding cuts, declining contributions from other donors have further weakened South Sudan's humanitarian response. Save the Children's budget for the country is expected to drop to $30m this year from $50m last year. More than a third of South Sudan's 12 million people have been displaced by conflict or natural disasters. The United Nations has warned that fighting in the northeast could push the country towards a new civil war. A cholera outbreak was declared in South Sudan in October last year, with about 40,000 cases and 700 deaths recorded between September to March, according to the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF. About half of those stricken by the disease are children under 15, UNICEF has said. Cholera is an acute form of diarrhoea that is treatable with antibiotics and hydration, but can kill within hours if left untreated. It is caused by a germ typically transmitted through a lack of access to sanitation. People become infected when they swallow food or water carrying the bug.
Zawya
21-02-2025
- Climate
- Zawya
South Sudan: Heatwave forces schools to shut for second year running
Dangerously high temperatures have forced schools across South Sudan to close for the second year in a row, putting learning out of reach for many children and pushing them further into risks like early marriage, child labour and recruitment into armed groups, Save the Children said. With temperatures expected to climb as high as 42 degrees Celsius next week, the government ordered schools to close for at least two weeks yesterday. The government has also stated that ' an average of 12 students had been collapsing in Juba city every day,' highlighting the severe impact of the heatwaves on children studying in schools with no air conditioning and poor ventilation. In March 2024, schools in South Sudan were closed for two weeks following a heatwave which reached temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius. Responding to the news, Christopher Nyamandi, Country Director for Save the Children in South Sudan, said: 'Dangerous heat like this is catastrophic for children's physical and mental health. Because their bodies are still developing, they are more vulnerable to both immediate illness and lasting long-term harms that come with the intense discomfort, sleeplessness, and exhaustion we are more familiar with. 'And shutting the door to the classroom often means shutting the door to a stable and healthy future. We know from the COVID-19 pandemic and flash floods in parts of the country that the longer children are out of school, the less likely it is they will go back, pushing future opportunities further and further away and pushing them further at risk of child labour, early marriage, or recruitment into armed groups, just to survive. 'South Sudan already has one of the highest rates of out-of-school children in the world. It is abominable that children already bearing the brunt of poverty and inequality, who have done absolutely nothing to contribute to rising temperatures, are robbed of their basic rights. When we talk about climate justice, this is what we mean. It is time for global recognition that the climate crisis is a child rights crisis, and that we need an urgent response that centres children's rights, lives and wellbeing.' Around the world, children are experiencing more frequent and severe heatwaves due to climate change. Save the Children research last year found that the number of children affected by extreme heat almost doubled between 2022 and 2023 and 2023 and 2024. Save the Children has worked in South Sudan since 1991, when it was part of Sudan. The child rights organisation provides children with access to education, healthcare and nutritional support, and families with food security and livelihoods assistance. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.
