Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. 24 MSF Facilities Damaged, Looted in South Sudan by Nabeel Biajo JUBA -- The head of Doctors Without Borders says armed groups have looted two dozen of the aid group's medical facilities in South Sudan over the last 18 months, and is demanding the government provide better protection. Joanne Liu, international president of the group known by its French acronym MSF, spoke to South Sudan in Focus after a trip to the country where she toured MSF facilities and met with President Salva Kiir. Liu said the sad truth is that rather than protect medical facilities, warring parties in South Sudan will often target them. After visiting the town of Waul Shiluk, where she saw a destroyed MSF facility up close, she said she told President Kiir and other top officials that the looting and destruction of medical facilities in South Sudan is costing lives. "It's just a reflection of the violence that is happening and what it does, as the biggest consequence, it's depriving people of health care when it's most needed," Liu said. MSF medical facilities have also destroyed been in places like Pibor, Leer, and Kodok, but Liu said the level of destruction she saw in Wau Shiluk was chilling. "We had to take a boat for half an hour, then we had to walk for half an hour. It was clear to me when I went there and walked through Wau Shiluk that it has been completely burned down and looted. Our facility, which was a PHCC [primary health care center] of 30 beds, is completely gone," Liu said. Not pulling out Despite rampant insecurity across South Sudan, mired in the fourth year of a war between pro-Kiir and anti-Kiir forces, Liu said her organization has no plans of pulling out. "MSF is deeply committed to stay and work here in South Sudan, stand by the civilian population and offer as much as we can. For us, it's absolutely imperative that all parties to the conflict respect and protect civilians and people must be allowed to have access to life-saving services," she said. Government officials contacted for comment on Liu's remarks did not respond. However, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Hussein Mar Nyot spoke about government efforts to protect aid workers on August 18 in Juba, at a ceremony to mark World Humanitarian Day. "It is always the policy of the government of South Sudan to provide safety and conducive working environment to all the humanitarian workers in the country," he said. "Also I want to assure our partners that we stand in firm cooperation and make sure that aid assistance that comes to the country will be delivered to all our vulnerable people wherever they are." Nyuot added that the government supports aid delivery to South Sudanese citizens regardless of whether they are in government- or rebel-controlled areas. Upper Nile State MSF's Liu said the war has taken a particularly devastating toll on civilians in the former Upper Nile State. "When I was in the clinic in Aburoch and the clinic in Malakal, what was very striking is that people have lost hope because they have moved four times over the last few months and started from scratch all over again. They have no prospects of anything positive to come," Liu said. She said the lack of access to people in need is a huge problem, adding that MSF's clinic in Aburouch is totally inaccessible by road due to insecurity. "Access in all its forms, people [trying] to access our facilities is an issue, it's difficult for them, and us accessing places that have concentrations of communities like in Aburoch, [where] there are about 16 to 18 thousand people, is very difficult," Liu said. She said MSF appealed to authorities to ensure people can reach medical clinics when needed. "We ask for access, we ask for respect where we work for our mobile units, for the facilities where we have people, not for us but for the patients," Liu said.