Juba – A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) healthcare facility in the town of Pieri, Jonglei state, South Sudan, was hit during an airstrike on the morning of 3 December. After the facility was hit, and the gunship helicopter left, MSF teams found bullets that had hit the infrastructure within the facility. MSF teams also witnessed additional airstrikes in Lankien (around 60 kilometres away), where we also run healthcare facilities, although there was no direct damage to the infrastructure.

In both locations, all MSF staff are safe, and there have been no reported airstrike-related casualties in the local community. MSF is the only healthcare provider supporting the community in Pieri, and our hospital in Lankien is the only secondary (advanced)-level healthcare facility providing lifesaving care in the region.

During 2025, our teams have experienced several attacks, some of which forced the closure of Old Fangak and Ulang hospitals in May and June, and the suspension of general healthcare activities in Jonglei, Upper Nile and Central Equatoria states.  

“The recent airstrike shows a deeply concerning pattern in which healthcare facilities are repeatedly hit or come under fire during persistent attacks,” says Emmerson Gono, MSF Deputy Head of Mission in South Sudan. “We call for the immediate protection of medical infrastructure, staff and patients in South Sudan.”

MSF operates one of our largest assistance programmes worldwide in South Sudan, responding to the many health needs resulting from ongoing conflict, displacement, recurrent disasters, and disease outbreaks. These issues are compounded by a marked decrease in international funding for humanitarian and development programmes in the country, and the precarious state of the national healthcare system.