How US Aid Cuts Are Killing Children in South Sudan — A Crisis Ignored by the World
Imagine walking for miles under the scorching sun, your child limp in your arms, only to find the health clinic boarded up — because foreign aid was cut. This is the devastating reality for families in South Sudan, where children are dying from cholera as US funding vanishes.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, is no stranger to suffering. Since gaining independence in 2011, it has been trapped in cycles of violence and poverty. Now, a deadly cholera outbreak — the worst in the country’s history — has pushed its broken healthcare system to the brink. UNICEF reports nearly 40,000 cases since September, with children under 15 making up half the victims. But what’s driving this catastrophe? Experts point to drastic cuts in US aid, leaving clinics shuttered and families helpless.
The consequences are dire. Save the Children, a UK-based charity, revealed that at least five children in Jonglei state died while trekking for medical care — only to find clinics closed. The organization once ran 27 health facilities in Akobo County, but after USAID slashed funding, seven were permanently shut down, and the remaining 20 operate at minimal capacity. With nearly 200 staff laid off, the few remaining health workers are overwhelmed, forced to watch patients suffer with little more than oral rehydration salts to offer.
For locals like Sarah, a 24-year-old cholera patient, the difference is stark. “We used to be happy — there were many doctors and enough medicine. But now we are suffering,” she told aid workers. Volunteer health worker Michael echoed her despair: “We see patients suffering, and we can’t help.” The funding cuts, initiated under the Trump administration, have rippled across global crisis zones, but South Sudan — where 80% of the population relies on aid — is among the hardest hit.
UNICEF warns that nearly 700 people have died from cholera since September, with nine out of ten states affected. Jonglei, already one of the poorest regions, bears the worst of it. Save the Children’s country director, Chris Nyamandi, described scenes of horror: sick children lying beneath trees, medical tents overflowing, and no resources to treat them. “It’s something out of a dystopian world,” he said. The question now is whether the world will act — or let more children die in silence.
Nyamandi’s plea is urgent: renewed violence threatens to worsen the crisis, cutting off even more access to medical care. As clashes erupt in multiple regions, the international community must decide — will South Sudan’s children be left to perish, or will the world finally pay attention?
South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, is no stranger to suffering. Since gaining independence in 2011, it has been trapped in cycles of violence and poverty. Now, a deadly cholera outbreak — the worst in the country’s history — has pushed its broken healthcare system to the brink. UNICEF reports nearly 40,000 cases since September, with children under 15 making up half the victims. But what’s driving this catastrophe? Experts point to drastic cuts in US aid, leaving clinics shuttered and families helpless.
The consequences are dire. Save the Children, a UK-based charity, revealed that at least five children in Jonglei state died while trekking for medical care — only to find clinics closed. The organization once ran 27 health facilities in Akobo County, but after USAID slashed funding, seven were permanently shut down, and the remaining 20 operate at minimal capacity. With nearly 200 staff laid off, the few remaining health workers are overwhelmed, forced to watch patients suffer with little more than oral rehydration salts to offer.
For locals like Sarah, a 24-year-old cholera patient, the difference is stark. “We used to be happy — there were many doctors and enough medicine. But now we are suffering,” she told aid workers. Volunteer health worker Michael echoed her despair: “We see patients suffering, and we can’t help.” The funding cuts, initiated under the Trump administration, have rippled across global crisis zones, but South Sudan — where 80% of the population relies on aid — is among the hardest hit.
UNICEF warns that nearly 700 people have died from cholera since September, with nine out of ten states affected. Jonglei, already one of the poorest regions, bears the worst of it. Save the Children’s country director, Chris Nyamandi, described scenes of horror: sick children lying beneath trees, medical tents overflowing, and no resources to treat them. “It’s something out of a dystopian world,” he said. The question now is whether the world will act — or let more children die in silence.
Nyamandi’s plea is urgent: renewed violence threatens to worsen the crisis, cutting off even more access to medical care. As clashes erupt in multiple regions, the international community must decide — will South Sudan’s children be left to perish, or will the world finally pay attention?
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