Recent cuts in United States aid have led to the closure of several health facilities in South Sudan, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals, including five children, who succumbed to cholera after a strenuous three-hour walk to seek medical care in eastern Jonglei state, according to Al Jazeera.
The news outlet reported that the United Kingdom-based charity Save the Children reported these fatalities, highlighting them as among the first directly linked to the funding reductions initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump under his “America First” policy.
Save the Children had been supporting 27 health centers in Jonglei State of South Sudan.
However, due to the U.S. aid cuts, seven centers have been completely shut down, and 20 others have scaled back operations, leading to the layoff of approximately 200 staff members out of nearly 600 nationwide.
Additionally, a U.S.-funded transport service that facilitated patient transfers to hospitals was discontinued because of insufficient funds. This forced the cholera patients to undertake a perilous journey on foot in extreme heat to access medical assistance.
Christopher Nyamandi, Save the Children’s country director in South Sudan, expressed profound concern over the situation, stating, “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,” he was quoted by the Al Jazeera.
Experts warn that the funding cuts—which include the cancellation of over 90 percent of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts—could result in millions of deaths from malnutrition, AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in the coming years.
The U.S. State Department responded by asserting that many U.S.-funded humanitarian projects in South Sudan remain operational but accused the country’s leadership of misusing foreign aid. A spokesperson stated, “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.”
South Sudan’s government has acknowledged instances of corruption but denies specific allegations, including those involving President Salva Kiir’s family.
Due to these concerns, most humanitarian aid is delivered through nongovernmental organisations. In addition to U.S. funding cuts, declining contributions from other donors have further weakened South Sudan’s humanitarian response. Save the Children’s budget for the country is projected to decrease from $50 million last year to $30 million this 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 ongoing fighting in the northeast could push the country toward a new civil war. A cholera outbreak was declared in South Sudan in October of the previous year, with approximately 40,000 cases and 700 deaths recorded between September and March, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
About half of those affected are children under 15 years old.