Fig. 2

Timeline of political unrest and number of VL deaths and cases in South Sudan [15, 38–41]. Between 1983 and 2005 VL claimed approximately 100,000 lives in Southern Sudan. During this time there was also an on-going civil war in Sudan. In 2005 a Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed. Between 2005 and 2008 an estimated 7,400 to 14,200 VL cases were reported annually in South Sudan. In 2011, South Sudan gained independence from Sudan and VL cases declined sharply to fewer than 5,000 cases in 2012 and to the lowest level in 2013 when only 2,714 cases were reported in South Sudan. In 2013 the nation of South Sudan entered into a civil war and experienced a doubling of the number of cases of VL cases in Lankien, Jonglei State and Malakal in Upper Nile State in 2014 with more than 6,700 cases treated. The exact number of cases between 1983 and 2005 is unknown, but must have been well over 100,000