A growing humanitarian catastrophe is taking shape along the South Sudan–Ethiopia border, as communities fleeing a deadly combination of violence and disease face mounting hardship.
According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), thousands of people are arriving in Ethiopia’s Gambella region exhausted, vulnerable, and in urgent need of assistance.
The crisis originates in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state, where intense clashes between government forces and armed groups have ignited a new wave of displacement.
These hostilities now threaten to spread to other parts of the country, deepening the instability and straining already fragile systems.
MSF and other humanitarian organizations warn that the situation is worsening by the day.
The United Nations estimates that more than 10,000 people have crossed into Ethiopia since early March, fleeing not only the violence but also a widening cholera outbreak that has plagued several regions of South Sudan.
The mass influx of displaced individuals is placing additional pressure on Gambella, a region already struggling to meet basic needs for both the incoming refugees and its host communities.
“We have already witnessed how this violence has fuelled the spread of cholera in several areas,” said Zakaria Mwatia, MSF’s head of mission in South Sudan. “But a larger, escalating conflict could push the entire country into an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”
MSF has called on all warring parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law by ensuring the protection of civilians, healthcare workers, and medical infrastructure.
The organization emphasized the critical need for safe, unhindered access to affected populations, allowing medical and humanitarian aid to reach those most in need.
The compounded impact of conflict and disease poses a severe threat to public health, particularly in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions common in refugee settlements.
Cholera, a waterborne illness that spreads rapidly in such environments, has already begun to take a toll, and aid groups fear a broader epidemic if urgent measures are not taken.
The unfolding crisis underscores the need for immediate international attention and coordinated response efforts.
With lives hanging in the balance, MSF and other organizations on the ground continue to push for peace, access, and lifesaving resources for the vulnerable populations caught in the crossfire.
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