JUBA — An evacuation order issued by the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) in early March has triggered a mass exodus of civilians from Akobo County in Jonglei State, with an estimated 100,000 people fleeing into neighbouring Ethiopia, according to a latest humanitarian update.
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) says the order, issued on March 6, which instructed United Nations peacekeepers, aid agencies, and civilians to vacate Akobo within 72 hours, effectively emptied the town and cut off critical humanitarian services.
The sudden directive has forced thousands of already vulnerable families—many displaced multiple times—to flee on foot toward Ethiopia and other parts of Jonglei and Upper Nile states, including Nyirol, Uror, and areas along the Sobat corridor.
The UN agency also noted that the evacuation has had devastating consequences for essential services. Akobo hospital, once a key refuge for the sick and wounded, has been abandoned, looted, and shut down.
“All those receiving treatment in Akobo hospital have left,” UNICEF reported, warning that the loss of such facilities is worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.
Across Jonglei, at least 28 health and nutrition facilities have been destroyed, looted, or forced to suspend operations since January, leaving thousands without access to life-saving care.
The collapse of health services comes as a cholera outbreak spreads in the region. Ayod County alone has recorded 149 cases and 19 deaths, while infections continue to rise in Duk and Uror counties.
The evacuation order, which was widely criticised by the diplomatic and humanitarian communities, came amid escalating clashes between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) and SSPDF across Jonglei, including in Akobo, Uror, Nyirol, Ayod, and other counties.
According to humanitarian data, more than 267,000 people have been displaced across Jonglei, Lakes, and Upper Nile states since January, with many forced to flee multiple times as violence spreads.
The displacement has placed immense pressure on already fragile communities, with newly displaced families lacking access to food, shelter, clean water, and healthcare, with children being among the hardest hit by the crisis.
Before the latest escalation, UNICEF noted, more than 6,000 children in Jonglei were already receiving treatment for acute malnutrition. The figure has risen to 60 per cent, higher than in 2025.
Recent assessments paint an even grimmer picture. In some displacement-affected areas, nearly one in four children under five is acutely malnourished—well above the emergency threshold—while about 7 per cent suffer from severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form.
Aid agencies warn that the disruption of nutrition services and shortages of therapeutic food could lead to increased child mortality if access is not urgently restored.
