Eight people, including five children, have died in South Sudan’s Jonglei State after walking for hours in intense heat to seek treatment for cholera, following the closure of nearby health centres due to United States aid cuts.
Save the Children, which had supported 27 health centres in the region, said US funding reductions forced the closure of seven clinics and reduced operations in 20 others. A US-backed transport service for patients was also discontinued, leaving the victims to walk three hours in nearly 40°C temperatures.
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The charity linked the deaths directly to the funding cuts, which were part of President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy. Experts warn that wider US aid reductions could result in millions of preventable deaths from malnutrition and infectious diseases.
The US State Department said it had no information on the deaths but maintained that some humanitarian projects in South Sudan were still active. Aid to the country is largely routed through NGOs due to longstanding concerns about government corruption.
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