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March 11, 2012 - Los Angeles, Calif. - International Medical Corps is responding to a recent outbreak of inter-communal violence in South Sudan. Following a violent cattle raid in the village of Romyereh in Upper Nile State on March 9, International Medical Corps has been treating mass casualties at Akobo County Hospital in Jonglei State, a 5-hour boat ride from the site of the violence, and the nearest accessible medical facility. To date, over 60 casualties have arrived at the hospital. The caseload includes at least 30 patients with gunshot wounds, as well as many fractures and other minor wounds. One person died on arrival.
International Medical Corps has one surgeon and one nurse on site who are managing the incident, along with over 150 hospital support staff. Three cases have been referred for medical evacuation to higher-level care. Four boats were dispatched from Akobo on March 10, for Wandi, Upper Nile State - an area close to Romyereh, where fighting continues but is inaccessible by road - to bring additional casualties back to the hospital for treatment. The boats returned to Akobo early on March 11, with eight patients, all in severe condition with gunshot wounds. The team that traveled to Wandi confirmed seeing bodies of people killed in the fighting. The local community members informed them that there were as many as 100 more dead in Romyereh, though this information has not been confirmed by International Medical Corps or the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). International Medical Corps is assisting local authorities by dispatching another four boats on March 11 to transport any remaining patients from Wandi.
Complicating an already difficult working environment, security disturbances in Akobo town on March 10 forced International Medical Corps to briefly evacuate re-locatable staff to the nearest UNMISS
base. The International Medical Corps team remained in the UNMISS compound for approximately four hours, while two clinical staff returned to the hospital under UN escort to monitor patients and to prepare for the incoming caseload. All International Medical Corps staff returned to the hospital that night and additional patients arrived by boat soon after. International Medical Corps is assisting the Akobo County Health Department, the Akobo County Commissioner, the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and other local NGO partners coordinating emergency medical assistance to victims of this inter-communal violence. Akobo County Hospital has a 76-bed capacity, a fully functioning operating room, male and female inpatient wards, x-ray and ultrasound capacity, pharmacy and a working laboratory.
Inter-communal fighting in Jonglei State has been ongoing since early 2011, with only a small pause after the referendum in July 2011. To date, approximately 120,000 people have been displaced during fighting, and disruption of access to basic services (health, nutrition, shelter, water, sanitation, and education) in affected counties has made populations even more vulnerable in this remote and difficult-to-access area. International Medical Corps is supporting 21 health facilities in
Jonglei state, providing primary and secondary health care, nutrition, and WASH services with funding from the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, the US State Department Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration, the World Food Program, the Basic Services Fund, the UN High Commission for Refugees and the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission. International Medical Corps has been present in South Sudan since 1994, and currently works in Jonglei, Upper Nile, Central
Equatoria and Western Equatoria State.
Since its inception nearly 30 years ago, International Medical Corps' mission has been consistent: relieve the suffering of those impacted by war, natural disaster and disease, by delivering vital health care services that focus on training. This approach of helping people help themselves is critical to returning devastated populations to self-reliance. For more information visit:
www.InternationalMedicalCorps.org. Also see us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
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