Juba, April 16 (Jonglei Times)-War-torn South Sudan's hospitals are
facing critical shortages, with institutions prescribing even basic
drugs for purchase at private pharmacies, according to health officials.
"The
situation at the Juba Teaching Hospital is terrible. We do not have
drugs, even basic anti-malaria drugs," the institution's director of
pharmaceutical services, Dr. Nathaniel Mogga, told Anadolu Agency on
Saturday.
Dr. Mogga said the hospitals
lacked essential items like cotton swabs, normal saline solutions plus
syringes and antiseptics. This endangers the lives of millions of
people, especially impoverished women and children.
"Health
services such as surgical and maternity wards will be closed until the
hospital receives drugs from the government or donors,” he said.
"This
has seriously affected primary health care centers across the country,
even including areas less affected by the conflict.
“The
ongoing civil war has seen most of the hospital wards closed due to a
lack of funds and the withdrawal of health partners in the country
reduced funding and donations".
Dr.
Mogga added both donors and the health ministry were aware of the
shortages, but the government did not have the resources to cope.
Abraham Garang Dau, a storekeeper at Jonglei State-Bor Hospital, said the main store had run out of essential drugs.
"We
were getting most of our support from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) but
they withdrew their support to the state hospital last month. The state
government and national ministry of health do not have the capacity,"
Garang added.
The cash-strapped government is failing to bankroll the crucial health sector amid a deepening economic crisis.
Dr.
Makur Koriom, the undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, said that
although the government knew about the drug shortages, it had no cash to
address the crisis.
"The government of
South Sudan and its partners are aware of the challenges facing the
Juba Teaching Hospital and other hospitals. The government has no cash
to purchase medicines but we are talking to donors and it will be
resolved soon," he said.
South Sudan
has been rocked by violence since 2013, when President Salva Kiir fell
out with his sacked deputy Riek Machar following a political split
within the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement. The power struggle
turned violent, mostly along ethnic lines.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced three million from their homes and left 5.5 million at risk of starvation.
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