The Ministry of Health in the Ruweng Administrative Area has
reported five cases of newborns with defects.
These cases were recorded at the Panrieng Referral Hospital,
with the majority originating from Lake No County and Jamjang County, between
December last year and April this year, according to the Minister of Health in
the area.
In April 2024, a pair of twins were born with defects at the
Panrieng Hospital. Tragically, both boys passed away shortly after birth.
Simon Chol Mialith, the Minister of Health and Environment
in the Ruweng Administrative Area, has expressed concern over the ongoing cases
of deformities and miscarriages in the communities and remote areas.
He attributes these health issues to the negative
environmental impact of oil exploration, which poses threat to the population
of the Ruweng Administrative Area.
Chol said the environmental audits are paramount and
suggests relocating people who live near the oil companies to protect them from
potential harm caused by oil contamination.
"In young girls, it can destroy blood cells. It can be
treated, but it is still there. For us in the Ruweng Administrative Area, we
don’t consider it as a natural disease but rather as an effect from the oil.
People are getting sick, and children are born with abnormalities. There have
been kids born with the same problem in the previous months,” Chol said as he recommends
that oil companies should create awareness and engage with the community on
safety standards.
“Recently, a woman came for a routine antenatal visit at 36
weeks and was found to be in labor. The medics recommended a C-section
delivery. When the children were delivered, they had some deformities and
unfortunately passed away. Their mother is in a critical condition and is still
under treatment,” he added.
Attempts by Mayardit FM to reach the Ministry of Petroleum
in Ruweng for comment were not immediately successful.
Experts highlight that South Sudan has suffered
environmental degradation, deforestation, and contamination of soil and water
in regions surrounding oil fields. The civil war, which began in 2013, two
years post-independence, is believed to have hindered proper environmental
management.
In the past, the Ministry of Petroleum and oil corporations
faced mounting criticism for oil spills that allegedly polluted the ecosystem
in oil-rich areas. Numerous local and international advocacy groups have
reported extensive environmental pollution, with chemicals from oil wells
reportedly being carried to residential areas by floodwaters, impacting both
wildlife and humans.
There have been reports of women delivering babies with
deformities and experiencing stillbirths, which were later verified by the
local community.
In 2015, Sign of Hope, a German human rights and relief
organization, stated that the health of over 180,000 individuals in northern
Unity State was jeopardized due to the consumption of water tainted with crude
oil.
Research indicates that most of the pollution caused by oil
exploration and exploitation in the Upper Nile region of South Sudan originates
from contaminated water used in oil exploration.
This is exacerbated by the civil war, which has caused significant damage to oil pipelines, severely impacting the environment and the lives of pastoralist communities. The oil industry in South Sudan has left a landscape filled with hundreds of open waste pits, with the water and soil contaminated with toxic chemicals and heavy metals. This has led to alarming reports of birth defects, miscarriages, and other health problems.