Juba Teaching Hospital/Photo by Madrama James|01/01/2024

A medical director at Juba Teaching Hospital has called on the government to intervene as the hospital is faced with irregular supplies of medicines, forcing patients to buy most of the consumables from private pharmacies.

According to Maker Gai, doctors at the national referral hospital often use their own money to treat and buy drugs for poor patients citing inadequate support to the heath facilities.

However, many patients who go to public health facilities are too poor to afford medicines from pharmacies.

“Those coming to Juba Teaching Hospital are patients who have no money even sometimes for transport,” Dr Gai told Eye-Radio on Monday.

“We treat them and give them money for transportation. And we buy medication for them because we’re trained to save the lives of patients,” he said.

“It not only giving medication but we go as far as by providing anything that can save their lives because they’ve nothing, they’ve no support, they don’t have money and they’re just poor people.”

Juba Teaching Hospital is directly funded by the Central Government through South Sudan’s National Ministry of Health.

But at times well-wishers extend charitable work to conduct surgical operations on vulnerable people.

Dr Maker is calling on the government to invest in public hospitals and the health of the citizens.

“They [the government] have to fund the hospital because if they bring funds, people will come to work. They’ve to bring medication because this is the face of South Sudan,” Dr Maker said.

“People don’t see private hospitals as the face of the government, it is this hospital. So, if our government is not able to clean the face of South Sudan,” he said.

“I think that’s not a good policy. We’ve to invest in the people of South Sudan and invest in the hospital.”