Renewed conflict in South Sudan between the military and opposition forces has created a surge in trauma cases at the country’s medical facilities, straining an already fragile healthcare system. The fighting intensified following a March 2025 attack by the White Army, a rebel group allied with former vice-president Riek Machar, on a government garrison. The incident prompted President Salva Kiir to suspend Machar and charge him with murder, treason, and crimes against humanity—actions his supporters characterize as politically motivated. The violence has killed hundreds and displaced more than 200,000 people, with the UN expressing concerns that civilians continue to bear the consequences of the bloodshed and political tensions.
At Juba military hospital, where the International Committee of the Red Cross supports surgical operations, medical teams face unpredictable daily demands. Surgeons like Dr. Slobodan Mirosavljev, who has worked at the facility since August 2025, operate on weapon-wounded patients whose conditions range from gunshot wounds to explosive injuries. In the first six months of this year, the hospital received 266 injured people evacuated from conflict areas. The workload is relentless, with medical personnel beginning their days before 8am for briefings and ward rounds, often continuing surgeries well into the night as new casualties arrive without warning.
Resources at the trauma center are critically stretched. Blood supply represents one of the most significant challenges, with the hospital typically maintaining around 15 units of blood, sometimes reaching 20. A single severely wounded patient can consume half of this available supply. Medical teams coordinate with patients’ families and the national blood bank in Juba to maintain inventory, but reliable sourcing remains difficult. When multiple casualties arrive simultaneously, the consequences become acute—at one recent peak this year, a surgical department at a military hospital operated at more than 160% of its bed capacity, illustrating the severity of the capacity crisis facing the country’s medical infrastructure.
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