Local authorities in Mugwo County of Yei River State have called on the local community to use health facilities closer to their homes and not depend on traditional medicines.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, Mugwo County Commissioner Emmanuel Taban said non-governmental organizations stocked three primary healthcare centers with drugs.
“The health center in Mugwo is operational, we are even admitting and handling minor cases. So if your case is complicated, then we refer you to Yei Civil Hospital. There is no need for people to remain at home or go anywhere for medication. We have enough drugs,” said Taban.
He added, “Currently, all the health services are in place. We even launched a vaccination campaign for small children yesterday [Wednesday] and all the vaccinators have been distributed or sent to the villages to carry out the campaign”.
The local official encouraged the local community to properly utilize the area’s health centers instead of travelling long distances in search for treatment.
Separately, Commissioner Taban said the security situation in the county is normal and hundreds of South Sudanese who sought refuge in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are returning home.
“The situation is generally calm and the refugees and internally displaced persons are returning home and people are preparing their gardens for cultivation,” he said.
“Those who have fled due to the security situation should come back home and we prepare ourselves for the new agricultural season because the rains have already started. Let us also prepare ourselves for the new government to be formed on February 22,” he stressed.
Mugwo County is one of the areas affected by the 2016 crisis.