Citizens from Yei, Wau, Torit, Juba and some parts of the nation, are appealing to South Sudanese leaders to learn from COVID-19 pandemic to establish good medical system in the country.
South Sudan has one of the weakest healthcare systems in the world, with just four ventilators in the country and more than 40 percent of the population have no access to even primary health care services, this is according to the New Humanitarian.
Incident Manager for COVID-19 Doctor Angok Gordon says they were expecting some machines from outside the country, but have delayed to reach because of the lockdown.
He adds that two patients of corona-virus in South Sudan are in critical condition and that the country still lacks equipment to manage the cases.
Speaking to CRN, some South Sudanese expressed their concerns about the health system in the nation.
One of the citizens who preferred to be anonymous says the coronavirus is a good lesson for everybody especially the leaders to learn from it.
‘Do you remember when one of the top officials was sick and the government came out with an initiative to take him to Kenya and the Kenyans rejected? You know, this is a big test for all of us. Kenyan authorities have rejected and they said that this is a time that each and everyone has to take medicines from home [your own country]. So really the dream of building those big towers or whatsoever houses outside the country and now with the virus, you cannot to go there. Even if it is your home but you are guided by laws and regulations you cannot go there. So the corona also is a clear study for all of us to learn from it’.
He called for better health facilities to manage such situations at any time.
‘For our politicians, there will be a time by different circumstances that you cannot travel outside or take medicine outside. So it is better to establish our home or build all these things here at home so that tomorrow or after tomorrow, whenever such circumstances come, it is where you can go and take your medicine’, the citizen added.
Another citizen regrets the fact that coronavirus patients and those who came into contact with them, are staying within the communities.
‘The title ‘South Sudan as a young nation’ Let me say, we are not young. We are old nation. What kind of health facility do we have in South Sudan currently? There are those one who has come into close contact with a person and they are within the city and within the states. With the four ventilators we have, what are the citizens of South Sudan going to do? We are watching on TV, China is taking care of their citizens, USA has good facilities. When we come to South Sudan, what do we have currently?
She regrets that most of the people do not care about the deadly coronavirus.
‘Despite the pandemic issues, when we look down in the states, people do not care about anything. People are living their lives normally. People already understood half of the knowledge about the pandemic issue, but they do not care about it’, she added.
Meanwhile, another citizen said he does not see any sign of preparedness against the virus.
‘We still see number of soldiers in a pick-up. That means social distance is not being seen. We don’t see the country prepared. We still feel leadership gaps are there”, he elaborated.
The citizen added that he is not happy because the taskforce for coronavirus is led by the Presidency instead of the minister of health.
Friday only mentions his one name due to fear of insecurity. He demands the leaders to put the health sector as their first priority in the country, including rural areas.
He urges the leadership to ensure that medical equipment is available at all medical facilities.
It is yet to be seen whether the leaders will respond to the call of their citizens.
This article was contributed by Hasssan Arun of Radio Easter, Ginaba Lino of CRN and Rejoice Michael Charles of Voice of Hope Radio.