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South Sudan

South Sudan has few roads across its great swampy plains, meaning aid and mission groups depend on MAF’s aircraft to reach people suffering through hunger, conflict and isolation.

With a tropical climate and few roads, MAF’s pioneers identified modern-day South Sudan as the African nation most in need of a flight service as early as 1948.

Regular operations began in 1950 with basic equipment, poor maps, and only intermittent radio communications. Over 70 years on, travellers to remote communities face many of the same challenges. The needs if anything, have only grown.

There was great optimism when the world’s youngest nation became independent from Sudan in July 2011. Tragically, renewed conflict in December 2013 now resulted in what the UN has called ‘one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises’.

Half of the population is in desperate need of immediate food or medical assistance and long-term support is needed to rebuild livelihoods.

An aerial view of the problem…

The humanitarian need is made worse by the poor state of the nation’s roads.

Travel over rutted mud tracks makes journeys time consuming, exhausting, and fraught with risk.

Difficult terrain and geographical barriers like the Sudd, one of the world’s largest wetlands, hinder both travel and access to services for those who live there.

Real dangers are posed by militias, bandits, road accidents and increasingly by unexploded ordnance from the ongoing civil war.

Sometimes the road runs out completely – during the wet season roughly 60% of the country cannot be reached at all by road.

Where MAF flies in…

A three-hour flight for one of our humanitarian partners can save them a week’s journey overland in the dry season and a month in the wet season.

We think our partners should be on the ground dispensing medical care or delivering therapeutic feeding programmes – not counting days or weeks of lost time travelling to remote communities.

Every flight makes a difference!

In the face of overwhelming need, MAF flights are enabling partners to treat patients, assist refugees, spread the Gospel, disciple believers, and provide education, healthcare, food, clean water and essential supplies, by flying them to their destination.

We are there to provide emergency evacuations when violence erupts.

Quick Facts

Main Base:

Juba

Programme Began:

1950

Aircraft:

Two Cessna 182s
Five Cessna 208Bs

Staff:

15 International
32 National

Did you know?

We served 10,322 passengers across 62 locations in 2022, and work with 232 partner organisations

Partners on the ground

AIM International
CMA
Every Village
Far Reaching Ministries
IMA World Health
Medair
Save the Children
Tearfund
WHO
World Vision

Where is South Sudan?

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About MAF UK

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is the world’s largest humanitarian air operator. For over 75 years we have been flying light aircraft over jungles, mountains, swamps and deserts. We enable more than 1,400 aid, development and mission organisations to bring medical care, emergency relief and long-term development. Our pilots and personnel deliver relief workers, doctors, pastors, school books, food, medicines - everything that can only be safely and speedily delivered by air. Our faithful supporters give and pray to make this all possible.