Upper Nile State Hosts Attention-Landing Tour by Minister of Health with Call to Rebuild Local Services

Malakal, Upper Nile State | 19 August 2025 — Upper Nile State Hosts Attention-Landing Tour by Minister of Health with Call to Rebuild Local Services 

Today saw the Minister of Health of the Republic, Hon. Sarah Cleto Rial, step off a charter flight into the buzzing centre of Malakal, intent on jump-starting a region-wide effort to rebuild and sustain the essential health services that drive community resilience. 

The Minister’s team brings a fan of heavyweights, especially the Undersecretary of the Ministry, Hon. Dr. Aninn Ngot Ngot; Dr. Benjamin Malek Deng, Health Committee Chair at the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly; and Dr. Humphrey Karamagi, WHO’s resident chief in the capital. 

Given the heavy toll these health systems have taken, the group’s mandate is to walk, talk and listen. They will scan the hospital, catalogue logistic problems, compare stock cards to real shelves, judge the oxygen feed, and interview community health workers on daily patient pathways. A debriefing tent at Malakal Teaching Hospital will serve to share the night’s findings and adjust the next day’s programme.

Partnering with community leaders and frontline healthcare teams, the Minister is laying the groundwork for lasting health programs. Through this shared commitment, the initiative will provide urgent care and, at the same time, build up the systems needed to improve health for residents of Upper Nile State for the years to come.