South Sudan at the Crossroads

Mercy Corps’ rapid analysis examines the growing risk of Ebola spreading from the Democratic Republic of the Congo into South Sudan as the outbreak moves closer to the border. It identifies four high-risk travel corridors and highlights how regular cross-border movement, porous borders and limited surveillance could allow an imported case to go undetected.

The report finds significant gaps in staffing, screening, referral systems, laboratory capacity, community awareness, and dedicated preparedness funding. It calls for urgent investment in community-based surveillance, rapid referral and testing, risk communication, health system readiness, and cross-border coordination before a first case is confirmed.