Precarious Health in South Sudan

Patients wait to receive medicine for tuberculosis at a hospital run by a Catholic mission in Agangrial, southern Sudan, Nov. 22, 2005. Although the peace accord signed in Jan. 2005 ended the war between the Islamic north and non-Muslim south, years of civil war have taken their toll. The presence of any government or infrastructure is minimal, if at all. The missions and other NGOs in the region provide vital basic services for the population, which is slowly growing around the relief and aid centers. While the war is over, the Catholic church sees that the battle with the Islamic Sudanese government for the hearts and minds of the people of south Sudan is just beginning. After a six-year transitionary period, the south Sudanese will vote in a referendum on independence. Tuberculosis (TB) is worldÕs biggest bacterial cause of death amongst the adult population. Each year nearly nine million people develop tuberculosis and around two million die from it. Yet TB is a curable disease, for the most part, when diagnosed and treated correctly. But the lack of adapted reliable diagnostics and access to treatment is a major problem in the developing world where nearly 99% of TB deaths occur.(Douglas Engle/Australfoto)

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Patients wait to receive medicine for tuberculosis at a hospital run by a Catholic mission in Agangrial, southern Sudan, Nov. 22, 2005. Although the peace accord signed in Jan. 2005 ended the war between the Islamic north and non-Muslim south, years of civil war have taken their toll. The presence of any government or infrastructure is minimal, if at all. The missions and other NGOs in the region provide vital basic services for the population, which is slowly growing around the relief and aid centers. While the war is over, the Catholic church sees that the battle with the Islamic Sudanese government for the hearts and minds of the people of south Sudan is just beginning. After a six-year transitionary period, the south Sudanese will vote in a referendum on independence. Tuberculosis (TB) is worldÕs biggest bacterial cause of death amongst the adult population. Each year nearly nine million people develop tuberculosis and around two million die from it. Yet TB is a curable disease, for the most part, when diagnosed and treated correctly. But the lack of adapted reliable diagnostics and access to treatment is a major problem in the developing world where nearly 99% of TB deaths occur.(Douglas Engle/Australfoto)

sudan health water hospital disease poverty war