Rumbek Hospital: Patients’ lives at the Mercy of God!
By Akolde N. Jinub
October 5, 2009 –Lack of medicine during liberation struggle was understandable that people could die or survive at the will of God and cause for liberation struggle, but now, it is State or GOSS Governments’ negligence that patients can just die helplessly without little rescue or sympathy to treat the 22 year civil war remnants.
Mothers have been and are dying in their labour at rate of two deaths in ten each single day. Many other deaths range from cattle rustling (theft), alcoholism out of social misfits, aged (widows) and community misfortunate starving from hunger given 2009 hunger year, that things will be worse for the whole region of Africa and South Sudan in particular where political landscape between north and South Sudan is time test and bomb.
Lakes State or GOSS governments are not providing drugs to the sickly population or some wrong elements in Lakes state Ministry of health are selling these drugs if there are to local pharmacies whose capacities are not worth health care guaranteeing.
Number of death cases are rising in the hands of these unprofessional, assume and money minded fellows selling un-scrutinized drugs in the market.
Sadly enough, GOSS greedy and corrupt officials are part of the monster game to kill civil war remnants by purchasing cheaply expired drugs whose cartons are labeled one – four years valid for use, but in reality, all drugs inside cartons are expired. All stock of drugs recently brought from Juba into Lakes state of Rumbek State Hospital are such of expiry internally.
The life saving fluids recently received from Juba is a case example in this article. The N.S (normal slime) Dextrose and single lactate are life saving to patients mostly of malaria cases, low blood pressure and cases of alcoholism.
As mentioned above, the drug store in Rumbek state Hospital was full with such fluids which have long expired leaving only the giving sets viable.
Unfortunately, the fluids were used in the wards like the medical ward which have no professional nurses to run it and lives were put to risks by such drugs if not lost.
Thanks to the nurses of the pediatric ward who discovered that the fluids were never useful (expired). After this discovery, and instead of condemning the fluids and the sources, some found their way to the local market where some of the so-called drug stores are cheating the public by diverting their use to external purposes. Some dressing of wounds is being carried out of these expired fluids (N.S) especially for cleaning and washing fresh wounds.
Where are medical authorities to stop such practices? Well, we shall continue to wait for help which is never coming. Stop trading with people’s lives.
The few medical professionals are not concerned with the fate of their patients as all the prescribed drugs are never issued in the Hospital Pharmacy but bought in the unprofessional drug stores in the market.
Where and how do such essential drugs find their way to the drug stores in the market and not in the Hospital Pharmacy? Fools would argue that these unprofessional drugs sellers in the market do purchase their drugs from Khartoum or East Africa: where?
This local market practice begins at the State Hospital gate, where a drug store has been built to ease patients’ caretakers buy quick. Many of these State Hospital personnel own drug stores in this black market as well. They shamelessly did it without remorse!!
Another blunder is the lack of Laboratory test agents of all kinds and even for detecting malaria. Only one type exists. Who can dream of research for malaria killer drug of this typical country of South Sudan?
There are cases pending in Police for investigation in which people have been injected with expired drugs that resulted into deaths and some serious sicknesses. This author brother’s kid is a victim of this purge. I am afraid that drug stores in the town sides can be deadly if it is in the capital town of the state that health cases can be ignored and go un-noticed!
When Lakes state region fell under SPLA/M control in 1997, there were hopes that people will get some help from international medical Organizations or humanitarian bodies on health care. Number of NGOs did try to help and it was indeed applauded and appreciated by public in silence though, which is part of the community traditional cultures that appreciation is not said it or shown as Whiteman language would tell you straight away that THANK YOU VERY MUCH for helping me or us.
But given the set up of our greedy politicians and their rush for wealth, health sector was not spared of interest. In 1999, number of international health organizations came to Rumbek, Lakes state capital to assist the needy. Among the vivid organizations was Malteser International Health Program under the umbrella of the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek. A well programmed institution from Germany with funds from European Humanitarian Office. Malteser International set up the first surgical department to rescue Lakes state communities on health needs and war victims when vicious Khartoum government was bombing indiscriminately on civil population in South Sudan in 1990s to 2000s.
Later on CCM, an Italian medical health program came and set up its base at Billing Primary Medical School formerly run by International Rescue Committee (IRC).
Here, western world interests collided over which should take and run this state Hospital and little penny that CCM hands out won its game in the expense of communities’ lives. It wasn’t on medical merit to award running of the state Hospital, but rather keeping and sustaining families of the commissioner and his Security advisor of the day 1990s to 2000s in Nairobi that worked. Malteser International being a charity and humanitarian agency seeking to help the needy and helpless lost this strenuous game.
Not only did the whole episode ended there, CCM ran the state Hospital with little funds and poor management that a surgeon would be hired and airlifted from Nairobi to Rumbek to operate the dying communities’ members waiting for days in pain to be operated of an illness or injury till 2006 after which CPA was signed between SPLM/A and Khartoum Government that GOSS or state government assumed an empty responsibility of running the Hospital. CCM pulled out that year’s ends at the request of GOSS or state government that they have money and capable of running Hospital management. Signs began to show that GOSS has little funds being hard-pulled from wealth sharing that Khartoum government does manipulate oil revenue figures to their wish and to keep South Sudan communities dying of all sorts of tragedies; and lack of professional medical personnel impeded the Hospital as well.
Nevertheless, environmental issues on health protection are being pushed to exist by foreign programmers such as Italian Cooperation, however, egoistic and self-centered local and errand politicians, of whom majority have not traveled beyond their home villages are very ignorant and who are not informed beyond your meal dishes!
In Rumbek Market, everywhere is a large potholes filled up with filthy and stagnant water. No single administrator or the so-called Public Health Officers in the town who would bother to set in and implement drainage system as part of town planning or proper cleaning up although SATURDAY each week is designated as a cleaning day in the state capital. No government employee in the state Ministry of Health institution bothers to monitor this cleaning exercise or would say, can I follow ethnic of my profession!!.
Voluntarily Counseling Centers or house-keeping of HIV/AIDS victims are non-existence given the scourge of this world pandemic, but who cares! International Rescue Committee (IRC) did had this program in Lakes state since 2001 and all of a sudden in 2007 – 2008, it has phased out and instead, it is what they so-called GBV (Gender Based Violence) program running. Do we need to help stop families quarrels or work to quell HIV/AIDS as part of the whole campaign? IRC think about this.
Just of late, European Union lent out money to ten Southern states to build in every County a complex PHCU (Primary Health Care Units) and pay staff of such medical centres for four years, but in Lakes state, everything ended in the throats of former state Minister of Health Lakes and his Benydit Gen. Awet. Everybody in Juba knows this scandal.
Everyone in Lakes state is living and expecting death of any little illness even by watery diarrhea, I am ought to question the state government and this is when the finger of blame is pointed not only to Gov. Awet, but also to GOSS Ministry of Health and of course to Gen. Salva Kiir in Juba!
Akolde N. Jinub is based in Rumbek he can be reached at [email protected]