South Sudan has registered an upsurge of malaria cases during the first semester for 2012 at the same time that the country is short of life-saving drugs.
UNOCHA South Sudan Humanitarian Bulletin reported that from January to June a total of 565,505 malaria cases and 651 related deaths were registered by health authorities.In 2012, the number of new people infected and fatalities is the highest in the past four years.
Juba, Terekeka and Kajo-Keji in Central Equatoria, Maban and Malakal in Upper Nile, Wau in Western Bahr el Ghazal and Rumbek East in Lakes are among the counties with the highest incidence of malaria.
The report says that the Ministry of Health, together with partner organizations, has scaled up malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment Ð especially for pregnant women and children under five years.
In the past seven months, severe shortages of anti-malaria drugs have been reported in health facilities across the country.
Health partners have responded by procuring over one million anti-malaria doses to the Ministry of Health for distribution.
Some health facilities have already received the anti-malaria drugs, but many others are still lacking them due to logistics difficulties of bring the medicines to the health facilities in the countryside.
Malaria is highly endemic and the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among young children and pregnant women in South Sudan.