From a snakebite survivor to an active health promoter in South Sudan
Each year, more than one billion people are affected by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)
“It happened while I was on my way home from the market at 8:00 p.m.,” says Noon Makor Arop, a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) health promoter and community engagement supervisor in Abyei, South Sudan.
“I didn’t realize it was a snake initially, but I soon felt pain and swelling in the bite area. I rushed to the hospital where my colleagues from MSF were working and I was treated with antivenom, recovered, and was discharged.”
Around 1.5 billion people worldwide – nearly one fifth of the global population – require medical interventions for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like snakebite every year.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 21 recognized NTDs, ranging from parasitic and bacterial infections to snakebite envenoming.
While some progress has been made in terms of controlling some NTDs in a few countries, the situation is worsening in some contexts due to funding cuts, conflict, fragile health systems and the climate crisis. .
NTDs are often fatal if left untreated, and some cause severe pain, disfigurement and stigma. They disproportionately affect the most marginalized and displaced communities and frequently trap people in cycles of disability, lifelong suffering, social isolation and poverty.
Many of these diseases are preventable or treatable but continue to be neglected.
Snakebite is a major public health emergency in countries like South Sudan, which has some of the lowest levels of ecological research on snakes, yet has a high number of reported snakebite cases. The risk peaks between May and October each year due to climate-related changes like floods and heavy rains.
“Snakebite is frequently among the top 10 reasons for hospitalization in many hospitals across South Sudan,” says Noon. “This situation is exacerbated by extreme environmental conditions and a fragile health care system. In 2025 alone, MSF treated 197 patients for snakebites in just two hospitals in two areas, including Abyei, where I work.”
“Snakebite is a major public health emergency in countries like South Sudan, which has some of the lowest levels of ecological research on snakes, yet reports a high number of snakebite cases.”
Noon Makor Arop, MSF health promoter and community engagement supervisor
Noon’s tips to avoid and treat snakebite:
To avoid a snakebite:
- Use light at night.
- Wear close-toed shoes, especially in tall grass
- If you see a snake, stay calm and move away.
In case of snakebite:
- Stay calm and avoid fast motion movement to slow the spread of venom.
- Remove jewelry or tight clothing before swelling occurs.
- Immobilize the injured limb with a splint or sling, keeping it at or below heart level.
- Get the to a health facility as quickly as possible.
- Do not use a tourniquet, which can cause limb loss.
- Avoid cutting, sucking or icing the wound.
- Do not attempt to catch or kill the snake for identification.
Improving care can save lives
The World Health Organization estimates that 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes every year. Around 138,000 people die annually as a result, while nearly three times as many survivors are left with permanent disabilities, including limb loss and long-term physical and psychological consequences.
Snakebite care can be fully integrated into basic and secondary health services, rather than treated as a marginal component of neglected tropical disease (NTD) programs.
In MSF-supported hospitals globally, teams treat between 500 and 1,000 snakebite patients each year, often under extremely constrained conditions. Strengthening routine health services would allow patients to access care earlier and reduce the burden on overstretched referral hospitals.
Despite having the highest mortality of all 21 NTDs, snakebite envenoming remains severely underfunded and overlooked. Investments in prevention, treatment and access to safe antivenom are disproportionately low, even though effective solutions exist.
Ensuring timely access to quality, affordable antivenom, combined with proper clinical training and patient follow-up, would drastically reduce deaths, permanent disabilities and the need for costly interventions such as intensive care, blood transfusions, surgery or long-term rehabilitation.
Snakebite deaths and disabilities are largely preventable. What is missing is not the knowledge or the tools, but the political commitment and sustained investment to act now.
