A section of Juba Teaching Hospital where waste accumulated during cleaning day on Thursday, December 12, 2024. – Credit: Nyathong William/Eye Radio

The Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Juba Teaching Hospital has stressed the critical importance of effective waste management in healthcare facilities to help tackle South Sudan’s alarmingly high maternal mortality rate.

The department highlights that infections, which often stem from improper handling of medical waste, remain a major contributing factor to maternal deaths in the country.

Dr. Zechariah Malel, President of the Association of Gynecologists and Obstetricians of South Sudan, explained that one key step toward reducing the maternal mortality rate is ensuring proper waste segregation and disposal.

“We have a very high maternal mortality rate in South Sudan, and one of the contributing factors is infection,” Dr. Malel stated. “To reduce this rate, we must ensure proper waste management in our healthcare facilities.”

According to Dr. Malel, proper waste management involves more than just disposal—it requires segregating medical waste and ensuring its safe handling.

“We need to know how to segregate the waste and where to put the medical waste,” he explained. “This is crucial to prevent harm to patients, their families who visit them, and even the medical staff working in these environments.”

In South Sudan, where maternal deaths are a significant health issue, preventing infections is key to reducing mortality.

Dr. Malel emphasized that without the proper systems in place to handle medical waste, the risks of infection spread, which in turn contributes to higher death rates among pregnant women.

He continued, “Once we ensure that everyone is safe—patients, their relatives, and our healthcare workers—we will see a reduction in the maternal mortality rate in South Sudan.”

One of the country’s most important medical facilities, Juba Teaching Hospital, has taken a leading role in addressing this issue.

Dr Malel pointed out that improving waste management practices within the gynaecology department of the hospital would have a national impact.

“If maternal mortality is reduced in the gynaecology department of Juba Teaching Hospital, this will reflect positively on the overall maternal mortality rate in South Sudan,” he said.

The initiative aims to provide support to the department, helping them manage waste more effectively and safely.

Dr. Malel’s team is actively working to assist healthcare facilities in South Sudan to implement these changes, ensuring that proper waste management becomes a key focus for reducing maternal mortality and improving health outcomes for women.

Dr Malel’s statements underline the importance of safe healthcare environments, and he remains hopeful that addressing waste management issues will significantly improve the safety and health of both mothers and their babies in South Sudan.

For her part, Dr Lucky Gloria Ambrose, the Assistant Medical Director at Juba Teaching Hospital, has raised urgent concerns about the critical water and electricity shortages affecting the hospital’s ability to provide adequate care.

Speaking about the challenges the hospital faces, Dr. Ambrose highlighted how the lack of sufficient resources is jeopardizing the health and safety of patients, particularly those in critical care.

“Water is a very big challenge here. Even when we purchase water, it’s never enough because the demand is so high due to the large population,” Dr. Ambrose stated.

She also emphasized the hospital’s ongoing struggle with unreliable electricity supply, which she described as a life-threatening issue for patients in need of constant care.

“The hospital is supposed to be a ‘hotline,’ where electricity should be provided free of charge, but that’s not the case,” Dr. Ambrose explained.

She further noted the severe consequences of power outages, especially for vulnerable patients.

“If electricity goes off while children are on oxygen or critical patients are in the ICU, life becomes miserable for the parents and caregivers. Babies may die, and critical patients’ chances of survival decrease without consistent power.”

Dr. Ambrose called for higher-level discussions, either with the Ministry of Health or the Presidency, to ensure that the hospital’s electricity needs are prioritized.

She stressed the need for the hospital to receive reliable, uninterrupted power to save lives and improve patient care.