6 AIDS patients die in South Sudan’s Tombora county due to nurses strike
June 3, 2016 (YAMBIO) – Six HIV/AIDS patients have died and many others have their health status deteriorating in Tombora county of Western Equatoria state due to the recent strike of health workers in the area.
Health workers have been on strike for the past three weeks due to non-payment by the government of their five months salaries, leaving patients lying in hospital beds without drugs to sustain or improve on their health conditions.
Also an international health organization, known as the Internal Medical Corps (IMC), which used to assist in treating the HIV/AIDS patients pulled out of Tombora county of Western Equatoria two years ago when the war broke out in December 2013.
Kenneth Ayino, Roving Program Officer of the triple “A” TB, HIV and Leprosy program in Tombura county, confirmed to Sudan Tribune that six people living with HIV/AIDS have died because of the delay to pay the staff, leading the strike. He also the withdrawal of IMC from supporting HIV/AIDS program has also created a gap of who to take responsibility of the program in the county.
He added that the situation may get worse as more HIV/AIDS patients are expected to lose their lives should there be no emergency intervention. Currently, he said, only World Health Organization (WHO) is partly supporting the HIV/AIDS program in Tombura county and there is no any other organization on the ground to rescue the situation.
Speaking to Sudan Tribune, Bibiana Khamis, who a lady who is living with HIV/AIDS virus said for the past three weeks they have not been taking their drugs because all health workers have gone on strike.
“It is three weeks now we have not been taking our drugs because the health workers are on strike for their salaries and our colleagues are dying,” she said.
She added that all those health workers who used to get for them drugs in the hospital have gone for cultivation outside Tombora area as an alternative way to take care of their families.
She added that the patients may have no choice but to break into the hospital’s drug store where the doctors are keeping the drugs and begin to administer the drugs on their own.
Bibiana lamented that signs of other infections have started appearing on their bodies and they are feeling weaker on daily basis.
Meanwhile the focal person on HIV/AIDS issues in Tombura county, Karisto Nzeme, said all the workers reported to him that they are going on strike for three reasons: “No one or organization cares about the HIV program in Tombura; Payment of five months salaries and increment of their salaries.”
The Director of HIV/AIDS program in the state ministry of Health in the newly created Gbudue state, Samuel Timateo, said the situation in Tombura is a serious matter which has been so challenging since IMC withdrew from the county.
He however reassured that the government was working hard to address the situation of the striking health workers who wanted their unpaid salary arrears for five months.
(ST)