Lawmakers are seeking to establish their own clinic within Parliament buildings to cater to their medical treatment needs.

The demand was made during a debate on National Public Health Institute Bill 2022 on Monday.

Nomia Thomas, a national MP representing the opposition SPLM-IO, said: “Madam Speaker, since I joined this Parliament, I have never seen any health measures put in place in case of emergency. In any institution like this, we are supposed to have an ambulance on standby to respond to cases of emergency.”

She argued that the health facility would deal with chronic diseases among the lawmakers and medical treatment needs.

 “During the first session, some of our honourable members collapsed in this Parliament, and nothing has been done to address their needs. Some of us have several diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, and there is no health unit at the parliament to treat the MPs,” she said.

For her part, Speaker of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, Jemma Nunu Kumba, said the assembly has already ordered an ambulance.

“I want to inform this August House that we have already budgeted to provide an ambulance for the Parliament that will be based in our premises in Parliament and it will also be based where there are sittings,” said Nunu.

Nunu revealed that plans are underway to set up a clinic to cater for the medical needs of the lawmakers. “Now that we have enough space, we are going to create a small clinic in that Parliament for first aid and first aid medication and the doctor will be there on standby and nurses to be there on standby to attend to the honourable members,” she concludes.

The health sector in South Sudan is financed by a combination of domestic resources and international aid from donor agencies. The health sector budgetary allocation increased to 7.9% of the national budget for the 2021/2022 fiscal year.