Oil pollution in Unity state - Courtesy

The Deputy Speaker of the Council of States said the government has dispatched 16 samples collected from families of children born with deformities in the oil producing areas to South Africa for laboratory examination.

Hon. Mary Ayen said the sample testing aims to address reports of disastrous environmental pollution in the country’s oilfields. She said the 16 blood and hair samples taken from 8 couples are being examined to further investigate the cause of the deformities.

“This year, we took 16 couples that are eight families, husband and wife, from those who gave birth to children with issues with congenital deformities,” she said during an event in Juba.

“They were taken to South Africa. Samples were collected from them. And yes, the result will come out.”

“The other one is the environmental audit process that was to be done in the oil-producing areas. Samples were collected. They were taken to the lab. The report is out, but it is not yet published.”

Environmentalists say South Sudan experienced environmental damage, deforestation, soil and water contamination, and health issues in and around the oil-producing areas.

The civil war that started in 2013 – just two years after independence was seen to have prevented the proper management of the environment and the Ministry of Petroleum and oil companies came under increased criticism in the past over oil leakages.

Both local and international campaign groups have reported widespread environmental pollution, as chemicals from oil wells are said to have been washed to settlements by floodwaters, leaving animals and people affected.

Reports emerged of women giving birth to deformed babies and stillbirths, and were subsequently confirmed by indigenous community.

Ms. Ayen revealed that in 2023 alone, five cases of deformities were recorded in Ruweng Administrative Area alone while three more were registered in November 2024 alone, without indicating where the new cases were registered.

“There are three cases in the month of November. We have other five cases that was in April last year of the congenital deformity. The government is helping. One of them said it was an environmental audit.”

She said there are rampant cases of miscarriage and other situations that are not being reflected in the reports.

In 2015, German human rights and relief organization— Sign of Hope said the health of more than 180,000 people in northern Unity State was at risk due to drinking of water contaminated by the crude oil.

The study found that oil operations released 8.3 million tons of salt, 7.9 billion liters of well-drilling fluids including lead, nickel and cadmium, and 6 million liters of crude into South Sudan’s soil between 1999 and 2020.

The contaminants affected communities in the oil-producing regions severely, depriving them of their rights to clean water, health and life, according to the group.

In November 11, an environmentalist called on oil companies to ensure that communities living in Unity State and other oil-producing areas are protected from catastrophic pollution by isolating crude wastes from floodwater and rivers.

Thomas Gatdel Malou – a student of Master’s Degree in Environmental Science at the University of Nairobi – was reacting to a newly published BBC investigation which found that four years of flooding in Unity State has worsened oil pollution.

The documentary titled ‘Dying of thirst’ as climate-driven floods mix with oil‘ found that crude chemicals from flooded oil wells have spilt into water sources from people and animals get drinking water.

The situation has killed more than 100,000 cattle, leading to the displacement of over 700,000 people and has been blamed for widespread and irreparable birth defects, the investigation finds.