South Sudan’s vice president in charge of the services cluster, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol Agany, on Sunday, met with a group of Sudanese doctors who sought refuge in South Sudan following the outbreak of conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023.

The meeting took place at the home of Sudanese Ambassador to South Sudan Jamal Malik and was attended by South Sudan’s National Health Minister Yolanda Awel Deng.

The Sudanese doctors briefed Vice President Akol on the issues about the health system in South Sudan and proposed to improve the Juba Teaching Hospital by offering to train South Sudanese doctors in addition to exchanging experience in the medical field.   

On his part, Vice President Akol promised to follow up with President Salva Kiir on the meeting’s outcomes and recommendations.

“I will meet with the president and brief him about these recommendations and we are going to work together with the Sudanese Embassy to solve the resident permit for the (Sudanese) doctors,” he said.

Akol pointed out that the ongoing war in Sudan affected patients in South Sudan who prefer to travel to Khartoum for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Ambassador Malik said his embassy is fully prepared to help the doctors obtain visas and work permits.

“We, in the embassy, are ready to solve any issues regarding your stay and to facilitate the process of obtaining work permits,” he said.

For her part, Health Minister Yolanda Awel Deng said her ministry will work tirelessly to issue work permits to the Sudanese doctors to enable them to work in the country.

She praised the Sudanese doctors as being the best in the region and the entire world, adding that the people in South Sudan prefer to get treatment in Sudan.

“Most of you here are the best medical experts we have, not only in Africa but in the world,” she said. “For me, it is also a blessing to have you in my country but at the same time, sadly, you had to leave your profession, and lose your assets and your families to come here.”

On behalf of the Sudanese doctors, Dr. Hussein Awad, the chairperson of the Medical Board at Ahfad University for Women, reaffirmed that they will work with South Sudanese doctors to improve the medical conditions in the country.

He revealed that they intend to establish a doctor’s training center to train South Sudanese doctors in all the medical fields as well as work to revive hospitals in all ten states.