The Ministry of Health in Western Bahr el Ghazal State on Thursday confirmed receipt of a consignment of drugs from UNICEF through the National Ministry of Health.
In May, the state’s health minister, Dr. Michael Francis Hassen, disclosed that they had not received any drugs from the Juba for the past year, paralyzing health services delivery in health facilities in three counties and at Wau Teaching Hospital which is the main referral health facility in the region.
“Today (Thursday) we are at Wau Teaching Hospital and we want to assure the citizens of Western Bahr el Ghazal State that we are receiving drugs because they have been waiting for so long,” he said. “The drugs will cover Wau Teaching Hospital, Comboni Hospital, and health centers in the three counties of Wau, Jur River, and Raja.”
Dr. Francis added: “We want to reassure the people and tell them that the drugs that have arrived are enough and we are straightforwardly going to start distribution to the counties so that we settle the problem of drug shortage which we were experiencing.”
According to the doctor, the state experienced disruptions in the supply of medicines due to a transition from the Health Pooled Fund (HPF) to UNICEF as the supplier.
“It is clear that the delay was due to our being in a transitional period from handing over the supplies from HPF to UNICEF which will supply drugs under the Health Sector Transformation Project (HSTP) which will support the Ministry of Health and counties for five years,” Dr. Francis revealed.
The essential drugs delivered include Malaria tablets and injections and medicines to treat and manage typhoid, TB, diarrhea, and antenatal care services for children among others.