Years of war and a fragile health system have left many people in South Sudan without access to treatment for chronic infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), which is quite prevalent. If left untreated, TB severely weakens people and is fatal in most of the cases.

Over recent years, MSF has integrated the diagnosis and treatment of TB into some of its medical programmes in Sudan and South Sudan in order to help tackle this disease, treating refugees, internally displaced people and local communities. New and innovative tools, such as the point-of-care-ultrasound (Pocus) and GeneXpert, are making it easier to diagnose TB better and faster.

Without a proper diagnosis, people with TB may be given the wrong treatment, with the result that they fail to recover from the disease. The volatile situation in the region, where conflict frequently results in people moving from one place to another, can also result in TB patients interrupting their treatment, raising the risk that they will develop resistance to anti-TB drugs.