File: Health workers during a physical TOT training on COVID-19 for frontline medical workers/ South Sudan Doctor's Union.

Doctors at the Dr. John Garang Infectious Disease Center are still waiting to receive their incentives promised by the Ministry of Health nearly a month ago.

Last month, doctors working as part of the Rapid Response Team for the Covid-19 threatened to lay down their tools if their incentives were not paid.

The healthcare workers highlighted the dangers posed by the surge in the number of Covid-19 infections in the country and demanded the taskforce provide them with working incentives.

They also demanded accommodation to keep them away from their families to curb the spread of the pandemic to their family members.

The Ministry of Health then accepted to pay them four months’ incentives and provide accommodation for the team.

However, Dr. James Chan, the team leader of the Rapid Response Team says the doctors are yet to receive the promised incentives.

“As you know there was a promise by the Ministry [of Health] about the incentives, that promise for COVID-19 incentives is not yet met up to now,” Dr. Chan told Eye Radio on Friday.

“We are in communication and yesterday there was information that there was progress for our payment to take place but they are still processing our payment but up to now, we are not yet paid.”

Dr. Chan says reports coming from the Office of the Vice President for Service Cluster Husein Abdelbagi who also doubles as the head of the national taskforce indicate the frontline health workers will be paid in the coming days.