South Sudan is one of the most urgent rehabilitation contexts in Africa. Since independence in 2011, the country has faced conflict, displacement, flooding, food insecurity, poverty and major gaps in health infrastructure. These challenges have created a large need for prosthetics, orthotics, physiotherapy, mobility aids and long-term rehabilitation.
For IMEA CPO, South Sudan should be viewed as a priority country for humanitarian rehabilitation, prosthetic and orthotic workforce development, assistive technology access, and long-term disability inclusion.
South Sudan is the world’s youngest country, bordered by Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. Its capital, Juba, is the main administrative and health-service centre, but large parts of the country remain rural, remote or difficult to access.
The country’s population is estimated at around 13.4 million, and the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan was designed to target 5.4 million people, equal to about 40% of the population.
South Sudan’s rehabilitation needs are closely linked to its humanitarian situation. OCHA states that the crisis is driven by sporadic armed clashes, intercommunal violence, food insecurity, public health challenges and the wider effects of Sudan’s conflict.
Reliable disability data remains limited. Older census data reported that about 5.1% of South Sudanese were living with disability, but more recent estimates suggest that around 1.2 million people, or approximately 16% of the population, may have disabilities. South Sudan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2024, but implementation remains difficult because of funding gaps, weak data systems and stigma.
For prosthetics and orthotics, this matters because disability inclusion cannot be separated from access to rehabilitation. A person with limb loss, a spinal injury, cerebral palsy, stroke, clubfoot, fracture deformity or conflict-related trauma needs more than emergency care. They need assessment, device provision, training, follow-up and repair.
South Sudan has a small but important physical rehabilitation network. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supports three physical rehabilitation centres in Juba, Wau and Rumbek, where artificial limbs, orthoses, wheelchairs, crutches and other assistive devices are provided.
ICRC reported that in 2025 it provided physical rehabilitation services to more than 3,700 people, up from 3,300 the previous year, including 751 prostheses and orthoses, 608 wheelchairs and 2,109 walking aids.
This level of activity is significant, but it also highlights the scale of unmet need. Decades of war in Sudan and South Sudan have left thousands of people without one or both limbs, and ICRC notes that prosthetic and orthotic services remain inadequate for current demand.
Conflict has been one of the main drivers of prosthetic need in South Sudan. Gunshot wounds, blast injuries, landmines, road traffic injuries and untreated fractures can all result in amputation, deformity or long-term mobility impairment.
For CPOs, conflict-related cases are often complex. Patients may present with delayed wound healing, pain, contractures, infection history, psychological trauma and limited ability to attend follow-up appointments. Prosthetic and orthotic services must therefore be durable, practical and linked to physiotherapy and psychosocial support.
Displacement interrupts rehabilitation. Patients may lose assistive devices while fleeing violence or flooding. Children may outgrow prostheses or orthoses without review. Adults may continue using broken or poorly fitting devices because there is no accessible repair service.
In 2026, OCHA projected that more than 10 million people, or around two-thirds of South Sudan’s population, would require some form of humanitarian assistance. This level of need makes rehabilitation planning extremely difficult, but also essential.
The war in Sudan has increased pressure on South Sudan’s already fragile systems. ICRC reported that from January to mid-May 2025, more than 2,500 South Sudanese and 343 Sudanese sought physical rehabilitation services through ICRC-supported centres or outreach clinics.
This shows how regional conflict affects national rehabilitation capacity. South Sudan is not only serving its own population; it is also receiving people affected by neighbouring crises.
Flooding is another major driver of vulnerability. A 2026 World Bank document noted that floods are the second-most frequent reason for displacement among internally displaced persons after conflict, and that in 2024 floods displaced at least 270,000 people, particularly in Unity and Northern Bahr el Ghazal.
For people with disabilities, flooding can be devastating. It can destroy homes, wash away mobility aids, block roads to clinics, worsen skin and wound problems, and separate patients from follow-up services.
South Sudan faces deep poverty and food insecurity. The World Bank’s poverty assessment describes poverty as endemic and food insecurity as dire, driven by persistent conflict, weak governance, economic mismanagement and recurrent natural disasters.
For O&P care, poverty affects everything: transport to clinics, nutrition for wound healing, ability to pay for footwear or repairs, family support, and the likelihood of returning for follow-up.
Children in South Sudan may require orthotic and prosthetic care for congenital limb differences, cerebral palsy, clubfoot, post-traumatic injuries, burns, infection-related deformity and developmental delay. Paediatric O&P is especially demanding because children grow quickly and require regular review.
In a fragile health system, paediatric rehabilitation must be linked with family education, school access, community support and growth-related replacement planning.
South Sudan’s assistive technology needs include prostheses, orthoses, wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, tricycles, paediatric standing devices, splints, spinal supports and pressure-relief solutions.
ICRC’s work shows the importance of combining mobility devices with physiotherapy and professional support. In the first half of 2025 alone, ICRC-supported centres in Juba, Wau and Rumbek provided rehabilitation services to 2,445 people, held 18,530 physiotherapy sessions and delivered 509 prostheses and orthoses.
The priority is not only to provide more devices. It is to build systems for assessment, fitting, training, repair and long-term follow-up.
South Sudan needs more locally trained rehabilitation professionals. This includes prosthetists, orthotists, orthopaedic technologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, wheelchair technicians, rehabilitation nurses and community-based rehabilitation workers.
Priority areas for training include:
International support remains important, but long-term sustainability depends on South Sudanese professionals leading services in their own communities.
Disability inclusion is increasingly recognised in South Sudan’s humanitarian response. CBM’s 2025 publication notes that South Sudan’s ratification of the CRPD was a major step, but also highlights ongoing obstacles such as underfunding, weak data and stigma.
For the O&P sector, disability inclusion should mean practical access. It is not enough for disability rights to exist on paper. People with mobility impairment need accessible clinics, inclusive schools, transport support, assistive devices, rehabilitation funding and protection from stigma and abuse.
Digital prosthetics and orthotics may have future relevance in South Sudan, but the priority should be appropriate, durable and serviceable systems.
Useful digital opportunities may include:
Digital systems should support local capacity. They should not distract from the urgent need for trained people, reliable workshops, materials, transport and follow-up.
South Sudan has major needs, but also clear development opportunities:
South Sudan’s O&P development faces serious barriers:
These challenges are significant, but they also show why rehabilitation should be treated as essential infrastructure.
South Sudan is a country where prosthetics, orthotics and rehabilitation are directly connected to survival, dignity and recovery. Limb loss and disability in South Sudan are shaped by war, displacement, poverty and climate shocks, but the response must be more than emergency device delivery.
The country needs durable rehabilitation systems: trained South Sudanese professionals, functioning workshops, prosthetic and orthotic materials, physiotherapy services, mobile outreach, repair capacity, disability-inclusive programming and long-term follow-up.
For IMEA CPO, South Sudan should be seen as one of the region’s clearest examples of why O&P must be part of humanitarian health planning. Mobility is not a luxury. In a fragile setting, it can determine whether a person can reach food, school, work, family support, healthcare and safety.