The ministry of health and environment in South Sudan’s Yei River State has begun renovation work at the Yei Military Hospital.

Minister of Health Christine Anite Philip told Radio Tamazuj on Friday that the renovation of the health facility will help create a conducive treatment environment between army patients and civilians seeking medical attention.

“As a minister, I took the project of renovating the military hospital as a priority to address the issue of congestion caused by mixing soldiers and civilians in the same civil hospital, because it is not good for some civilian patients,” he said.

Brigadier-General Malong Chol, the army commander in the state, applauded the health ministry for taking the initiative to renovate the military hospital so as to address some of the challenges affecting soldiers while seeking treatment at civil hospitals in the area.

The army officer disclosed that wounded soldiers were being referred to Juba Military Hospital for treatment since the outbreak of civil war in 2016, saying it was very expensive to transfer government soldiers for medical care in the capital Juba.

 “With the renovation of the military hospital, the soldiers can be treated locally at the military barracks and also the soldiers will not be treated again at civil hospitals,” Chol said.

The state government said the renovation project will cost 2 million South Sudanese Pounds.