April 25, 2013 (JUBA/KHARTOUM) – South Sudan joined in global commemorations on Wednesday marking World Malaria Day, with the government saying it was confident of eradicating the killer disease.　 Malaria has brought “incredible destruction” to South Sudan, accounting for two in every 10 deaths in the country. It is also the leading cause of illness and death in children under the age of five.

April 8, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - UN agencies in South Sudan’s Unity and Upper Nile states are stockpiling supplies of food and relief items, in preparation for a potential fresh influx of refugees from the Sudanese border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Cosmas Chanda, the representative for the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) in South Sudan, said the flow of new arrivals into Upper Nile state had continued - albeit at a reduced pace in comparison to mid-last year - with the Sudanese refugee population in South Sudan surpassing 190,000.

March 13, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan and several international partners have signed an agreement which recommits them to the fight and control of malaria in the new country by 2018.

The five-year program, spearheaded by the ministry of health, has also reviewed the policies and programming framework within the context of the health system and the national development agenda in the country.

February 26, 2013 (JUBA) – An internal report obtained by Sudan Tribune has found that the majority of health facilities in South Sudan lack essential medicines.

The report, which looked at the distribution of medicines and medical supplies, discovered expired medicines at Juba’s central medical warehouse and state pharmacies worth over SSP 8 million.

February 6, 2013 (BOR) - South Sudan, which has the worst maternal mortality rate in the world, opened a new a new maternity ward in Bor, the capital of the young nation’s largest state on Wednesday.

The minister of health, Michael Milly Hussein, officially opened the new facility, promising that 12 new health facilities would be built in Jonglei state as part of a plan to build 100 new health centres across South Sudan, but he did not give locations or a timeframe.

January 10, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) issued a statement today confirming the eruption of tribal clashes in the restive region leading to an "undetermined" number of casualties and displacement of thousands of civilians.

The heavy fighting that broke out last week between Rezeigat Aballa and Bani Hussein tribes was caused by a dispute over exploration in a gold mine in Jebel Amer area in North Darfur state.

By Bonifacio Taban Kuich

November 29, 2012 (BENTIU) - The health situation among children and pregnant women in Unity State’s Payinjiar County is deteriorating due to widespread flooding, say government officials.

Payinjiar County’s Executive Director, Cornelio Waya Ruach, told Sudan Tribune on Thursday that the “situation is out of hand" and "there is need for quick help of people on ground as the death rate among pregnant women and children are on rise every day as there is no medicine".

Nearly 100 students from Alliance High School have voluntarily joined South Sudan Red Cross society in Bor, the capital of Jonglei State, according to the director of Red Cross Society in Bor, David Gai.

According to Gai, the new volunteers will undergo training to understand the principles of neutrality and impartiality, which are integral to the Red Cross, before they participate in any area of disaster management.

“After we recruit they will be able to serve their communities through the knowledge they gain from us”, he said.

October 12, 2012 (JUBA) - At least ten people have died and 42 others admitted in to hospital following the recent outbreak of Kala-azar in Ayod County in South Sudan’s Jonglei State, local leaders say.

Seven people died in Pagil Payam [district] while three died in Jech Boma [sub-district], according to Nelson Kuach Thoat, a member of Jonglei State Legislative Assembly representing Ayod.