A severe drug shortage has hit Baliet County in Upper Nile State amidst rising cases of malaria, county health officials have said.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Peter Atiep Kur, the county health director, said they have in the recent past experienced a surge in malaria cases due to rising floodwaters since the beginning of the year.
“In the county, we get 80 to 100 malaria patients every week. This is an increase from the about 30 malaria cases we used to receive before the floods in December. We also receive five to six cases of kala-azar every day. And as we expect the floodwaters to rise in the coming months, the kala-azar cases will also increase,” Atiep said.
The county health official urged the government and its health partners to urgently intervene by providing the much-needed life-saving drugs before the situation worsens.
“We receive consignments after every three months. Compared to 2019, our population has risen, we have returnees from the displaced persons' camps in Melut County, and with these floods, diseases are increasing. So, we lack drugs,“ he added.
For his part, Adet Akec, the acting Baliet County commissioner, also decried the worsening health situation in the county and appealed to the government and health agencies operating in the state to intervene.
The level of floodwaters continued to rise in parts of Upper Nile State, including Baliet County, since December last year.
Last month, Ayuel Isaac Abiel, the medical director of Malakal Teaching Hospital, decried the health situation in the state and called for government intervention.