Dr. Peter Deng Majok

Dr. Peter Deng Majok is one of South Sudan's small but committed cohort of trained internists and general physicians, providing internal medicine and primary care at Juba Teaching Hospital — the country's principal public referral facility and the closest South Sudan has to a tertiary care centre. Since the country achieved independence in 2011, Dr. Majok has been part of the generation of South Sudanese physicians building their country's medical infrastructure largely from scratch, under conditions shaped by ongoing conflict, extreme poverty, and one of the world's lowest physician-to-population ratios.

Trained at Makerere University in Uganda — a destination for many South Sudanese medical students given the historical absence of medical schools in South Sudan — Dr. Majok returned to Juba committed to contributing to his homeland's health system. His daily clinical work spans a broad range of conditions: the infectious disease burden of South Sudan is immense, with malaria, kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis), tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS presenting in high volumes, often in patients who are also malnourished or have sustained conflict-related injuries.

Dr. Majok works within the constraints of a hospital system where diagnostic equipment is limited, medicine supply chains are unreliable, and specialist colleagues are very few. His ability to manage complex medical presentations with minimal investigative support has been developed over 14 years of practice in this environment. He collaborates closely with WHO, MSF, and other international health organisations that support Juba Teaching Hospital's medical services.

Dr. Majok completed his MBChB at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, one of East and Central Africa's most established medical schools. Makerere provided him with a strong clinical foundation across internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics, and community health — a breadth of training that proved directly applicable to the generalist demands of practice at Juba Teaching Hospital.

Following graduation, he undertook a Certificate in Internal Medicine at the Uganda College of Health Sciences, which provided structured training in the diagnostic and management approach to complex medical presentations. He also completed a WHO-supported certificate programme in HIV/AIDS clinical management, covering antiretroviral therapy initiation and monitoring, opportunistic infection management, and integration of HIV care with tuberculosis treatment — a critically important clinical skill set given South Sudan's high HIV prevalence in certain population groups.

Since returning to Juba, Dr. Majok has maintained his professional development through participation in WHO South Sudan clinical training activities, MSF medical education programmes, and the Juba Teaching Hospital's ongoing clinical governance and case review processes. He is a member of the South Sudan Medical Association, which is working to establish professional standards and continuing medical education frameworks in the newly independent country.

Dr. Majok's internal medicine practice is shaped by South Sudan's epidemiological landscape, which combines an exceptionally high burden of infectious disease with growing rates of non-communicable conditions, all presenting in a population with limited prior access to healthcare. In his outpatient and inpatient work at Juba Teaching Hospital, he manages malaria at all levels of severity, including severe complicated malaria requiring parenteral artesunate and intensive supportive care.

Kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis) is endemic in South Sudan and represents a particular area of Dr. Majok's clinical experience. He identifies, confirms (using available rapid diagnostic tests and clinical criteria), and initiates treatment for kala-azar patients — a disease that is fatal without treatment and that disproportionately affects the communities most exposed to conflict and displacement. He manages tuberculosis using national DOTS protocols and oversees HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy, monitoring for treatment response and managing opportunistic infections.

Beyond infectious disease, Dr. Majok manages adult patients with hypertension, diabetes, and cardiac conditions — non-communicable diseases whose prevalence is growing in Juba as the city urbanises. He provides emergency internal medicine consultations for acutely unwell patients arriving at Juba Teaching Hospital and triages cases to determine the level of care required. He is transparent with patients and families about the limitations of what can be investigated and treated in South Sudan, and advises on medical travel to Uganda or Kenya when specialist care is required.

South Sudan has almost no medical research infrastructure, and Dr. Majok has not published academic papers. However, he has contributed to disease surveillance reporting for the South Sudan Ministry of Health and WHO, providing clinical case data that feeds into national infectious disease monitoring and outbreak response systems.

He participated as a clinical informant in an MSF analysis of kala-azar case outcomes in Juba, which contributed to an operational research paper on treatment approaches in conflict-affected settings. His observations on clinical presentation patterns, treatment adherence challenges, and the intersection of malnutrition with infectious disease outcomes have informed WHO South Sudan's country health profiles and programmatic planning documents. Dr. Majok views the capacity to collect and share accurate clinical data as one of the most important contributions a physician in South Sudan can make to the global health evidence base.

Juba Teaching Hospital is the highest level of medical care available in South Sudan, but it operates far below the standards of a tertiary referral hospital in neighbouring Uganda or Kenya. It is not a destination for planned international medical care. However, Dr. Majok regularly sees foreign nationals working in South Sudan — NGO and UN staff, journalists, diplomats, and aid workers — who develop infectious illness or acute medical conditions during their deployment.

For these patients, Dr. Majok provides initial assessment, diagnosis, and stabilisation. He is experienced in managing malaria in non-immune patients (who are at higher risk of severe disease) and communicates clearly in English. He works closely with international organisation medical advisers and medical evacuation services to determine when a patient requires medical evacuation to Nairobi or Kampala and to facilitate the clinical handover documentation required for safe transfer. Members of the South Sudanese diaspora visiting Juba are also welcome to consult with him.

Dr. Majok has not received formal awards, but his sustained commitment to internal medicine practice in South Sudan — a country where many trained physicians have chosen to work abroad given the difficulty of conditions at home — is recognised within Juba Teaching Hospital and the South Sudan Medical Association. He has been acknowledged in WHO South Sudan country health updates as a contributor to infectious disease clinical management and surveillance.

He is regarded by colleagues and international health organisation staff as a reliable and skilled clinician who can be trusted to manage complex presentations with integrity. In a health system as under-resourced as South Sudan's, professional reliability and clinical competence under pressure are the qualities most valued by peers, and Dr. Majok is known for both.