GENEVA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday of a rapidly rising burden of malaria in South Sudan, amid a widespread of displacement and a major food crisis as a result of years of conflict.
Though malaria season is underway across much of sub-Saharan Africa, a particularly heavy toll has been recorded in South Sudan, where the entire population is at high risk of contracting the illness because of a fractured health system.
The WHO estimated that 1.3 million people have fallen ill with malaria this year, while thousands are affected by cholera and measles, particularly along the Nile River and in camps for displaced people.
The deadly mosquito-borne disease accounts for 65 percent of all illnesses reported in health facilities across the country. Every week it infects more than 77,500 people and kills nearly 220, mostly children under the age of five, according to WHO statistics.
Across the country, malnutrition, severe pneumonia, malaria and perinatal complications remain the most common causes of death in children under five, the UN health agency said.
Though the WHO and partners are working to provide critical health services, including dispatching regular mobile medical teams to outbreak hotspots and training of frontline health workers, they are still undermined by a staggering 84 percent funding gap.
Meanwhile insecurity also poses a great challenge for aid workers to access the population needing health service, as fighting has resumed since last year between rival factions in the country.
South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 due to political disputes between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar, resulting in armed conflicts between ethnic groups loyal to the two.
Despite a peace agreement reached in 2015, violence erupted again in July 2016. Years of conflicts have already killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, and also ravaged the country's health system while leaving a major food crisis.
