The International Committee of the Red Cross is reporting that sick South Sudanese residents stare at death in the face due to lack of hospitals, medical facilities, equipment and personnel.
Women in labour especially face a lot of danger before giving birth as hospitals are located many kilometres away and the roads are at times impassable.
The report says that there is at least one maternal death every three months.
“At least every three months there is a maternal death. This is the minimum. Often there are more” Patricia Maina, an ICRC health delegate is quoted as saying in the report.
South Sudan has gone through a devastating two-year civil war, and there are fears of it sliding back into that kind of violence again.
Having signed a peace deal last year paving the way for the March return of Riek Machar to Juba, the rebel leader fled the capital again in July following heavy gunfight between forces loyal to him and those loyal to President Salva Kiir.
Machar was then sacked as first vice president and replaced with Taban Deng Gai.
He has since demanded that he be reinstated.
