Future Doctors for South Sudan

Update July 2023: FDSS graduate Stephen Thiep Mayout establishes medical clinic in Wao

The tragic lack of medical care in South Sudan remains unimproved. The country’s clinics and hospitals are inadequately equipped, lacking necessary supplies, and scarce in number. Compounding the problem is the severe shortage of South Sudanese physicians and nurses. The situation is particularly evident at The Juba Teaching Hospital, the countr’s sole teaching and referral hospital, which lacks the essential medical expertise, equipment, and medication to operate at even the most basic level.

Regrettably, the government of South Sudan has failed to establish an effective health system and shows no indications of plans to address the issue. In light of this, one potential solution is for South Sudanese physicians and healthcare providers to take matters into their own hands by establishing non-governmental clinics and hospitals run by local professionals. To support this endeavor, our nonprofit organization, Future Doctors for South Sudan, is assisting some of our recent medical school graduates in setting up a clinic in Wao. Thanks to the efforts of FDSS graduate Stephen Thiep Mayout, the clinic has now been established, and has already become very busy. Named the Quality Health Clinic, this facility is providing vital primary medical care, maternal and child health services, and nutritional support to those in need. Our hope is that Stephen and his colleagues will demonstrate the success of this initiative, and that it will evolve to provide comprehensive health services for the region.

If this endeavor proves successful, we believe it could serve as a model for beginning to establish quality health care in South Sudan. Supporting the efforts of South Sudanese physicians to provide health care for their communities appears to be the best path forward. FDSS will be working diligently to provide all the help we can to support the success of The Quality Clinic.

Update june 2023: a recap of FDSS progress to date and the status of our students

The health of the people of South Sudan remains in crisis. Disease and injuries are rampant, and often go untreated. Mortality rates from infectious diseases, maternal deaths, perinatal deaths, pediatric deaths, and trauma mortality are amongst the worst in the world. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that South Sudan may currently be the most medically underserved nation in the world. Decades of civil war and dysfunctional governance has left South Sudan with a health system in shambles. Much of the care that is provided in the country is from non-governmental organizations, but this has been fragmented and often transitory. Over the past thirty years, most trained South Sudanese physicians left the country for better opportunities. The South Sudanese medical schools have failed to function (partly due to a lack of faculty), so new physicians have not been trained. Qualified young South Sudanese students who aspire to become physicians have no opportunity within their country, and almost never have the financial means to seek medical education outside of South Sudan.

The first FDSS student was a young man who worked with Dr. Waxman in South Sudan. Highly intelligent and motivated, this individual had no pathway to becoming a physician. Dr. Waxman decided to personally provide support for this student’s medical education. Shortly after beginning this support, word spread in South Sudan, and many young individuals contacted Dr. Waxman, seeking similar help. This was the motivation to develop a non-profit organization, FDSS, to attempt to raise funds to provide as much support to as many students as possible.

The application process to FDSS begins with an on-line questionnaire to document educational background, academic success, and personal statements to assess motivation. Degrees are verified using primary source verification. It is made clear to the applicants that there must be a commitment to return to South Sudan following their education. Qualified individuals undergo a telephone interview with Dr. Waxman, where their English fluency, drive and motivation, and sincerity in wanting to become a physician to benefit South Sudan are assessed.

For those students who are accepted, Dr. Waxman has provided assistance in identifying and applying to medical school. Throughout their education, students must provide documentation of their academic progress by providing transcripts and copies of graduation certificates.

FDSS has been financially supported by private donations. Since its inception in 2015, $185,000 has been donated. Dr. Waxman has provided additional financial support. All work for FDSS is voluntary; the organization pays no salaries, overhead, or staff expenses. 100 percent of donations have been utilized for direct support of student education.

Of 33 South Sudanese students who applied for support for FDSS, fifteen were accepted and have received support for their education. Of these fifteen, ten have now completed medical school in Kenya or Uganda. Nine students completed internships; the tenth is beginning his internship. FDSS has also supported postgraduate education:

One FDSS student is now in residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in Uganda. One student is doing Internal Medicine residency in Ethiopia. One student completed both internal medicine and cardiology training in Kenya. Additionally, FDSS is supporting MPH education for one student, and PhD training in public health for an additional student.

Five of our fifteen accepted students did not complete their medical education. The primary reason for this is that they felt their extended families needed them to provide immediate financial support, and they felt they could not delay earning incomes during extended medical education.

Of the seven FDSS physicians who have completed their education and postgraduate training, all have returned to South Sudan and are now working in their county to provide medical care. Four FDSS graduates are working for the South Sudanese public health system, and three are working in South Sudan for non-governmental organizations.

One graduate is now providing cardiology services at the Juba teaching hospital and in private practice. He is one of only several trained South Sudanese cardiologists in the country. He is collecting echocardiology data on the large number of rheumatic valvular disorders he is encountering in young South Sudanese patients and hopes to publish these data to help drive improvement in identification and treatment of Streptococcal infections.

One graduate is working for a non-governmental organization providing essential health care in a remote area. She is using much of her salary to support education for other young South Sudanese women who hope to become physicians.

One graduate has been working with the South Sudanese government in efforts to improve access and distribution of vaccinations.

One graduate has founded a primary health clinic in Wao. The goal is providing much needed health care for his underserved community. As this clinic grows, he hopes to provide opportunities for other FDSS students to join him in practice. He would also like to continue the FDSS legacy by identifying new motivated and qualified young South Sudanese students and supporting their medical education.

FDSS has supported the medical education for a modest number of South Sudanese students. All of our graduates have returned to South Sudan, and all of our students in training have committed to returning.

FDSS does not have the financial means to accept additional students at this time. However, the mission must continue. It is our hope that our success will serve as a roadmap for other organizations to support medical education for South Sudanese students. We will also do all we can to support our graduates in their medical careers, in hopes that they will identify and support medical training for future students.

It has been the hope of FDSS that training South Sudanese physicians might serve as a catalyst to begin the development of a better health care system for South Sudan. This hope persists. It is a remarkable achievement for a young South Sudanese to become a physician; it is only remarkably strong and motivated individuals who can overcome the obstacles. These characteristics appear to be persisting after graduation. Though it is still early in their medical journeys, FDSS graduates are already providing essential care and are providing leadership in improving the health care system.