Juba Teaching Hospital is the main public health facility in South Sudan. It is reported to have inadequate power supply and lacks doctors and nurses after many quit due to little pay and poor working conditions | Credit | File photo

The South Sudan Doctors’ Union has appealed to the peace government to act faster and increase the payment of medical personnel in the country.

In a statement, coinciding with the International Labor Day on Saturday, the union said health professionals in the country are paid too little, with no benefits and retention packages.

A doctor receives 6,840 Pounds a month – an equivalent of 38 dollars.

The union says there is a need for the Ministry of Labor and Public Service to increase the salary scales for all health workers in the public as well as the private sector.

According to the union, South Sudanese doctors are some of the most underpaid in the region.

The SSDU also says most doctors have been neglected in the decision-making to improve the health sector in the country.

The union, therefore, demands that government acts faster to address these problems, saying the doctors are losing optimism that things will ever improve soon.

It equally calls on UN agencies, NGOs, and private companies to provide equal opportunities for the employment of health workers and improve the working conditions of those already employed.