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MSF hands over refurbished Bentiu pediatric unit to MoH

Author: Lasuba Memo | Published: October 31, 2024

Rehabilitated Bentiu State Hospital (BSH) Pediatrics ward. (Photo: Maliah Mawich/MSF)

The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Ministry of Health have inaugurated a rehabilitated pediatric unit at Bentiu State Hospital in Unity State to enhance provision of healthcare services there.

MSF said the 48-bed facility will offer outpatient and inpatient services including vaccinations, treatment for malaria, general inpatient wards as well as support admissions from the emergency department.

In a press statement extended to Eye Radio, the medical aid group said the refurbished health unit is part of its plan to transition all primary and secondary healthcare services from the Bentiu displacement camp to Bentiu State Hospital by 2025.

James Mutharia, MSF Project Coordinator for the Bentiu Hospital transition said the move seeks gradually absorbing into the new system of operation in the local healthcare system while ensuring minimal disruption of services during the shift.

“This is the first step towards a partnership with the State Ministry of Health that will ensure continuity of healthcare provision, as MSF gears up to restore its emergency response capacity,” Mutharia said.

An MSF nurse, Gatmai, examines a child admitted to the inpatient therapeutic feeding centre at the MSF hospital in Bentiu IDP camp in Unity state. Martha Nyariek holds her one-year-old daughter Nyageng Mawich who is suffering from malnutrition.

“Our next steps will focus on strengthening the hospital’s ability to provide accessible and entirely free healthcare services to the population as a state facility. We will ensure minimal disruption so that patients can continue accessing medical services.”

MSF has been running secondary healthcare services for both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the surrounding host population in the past nine years.

In 2023 alone, MSF said its Bentiu teams conducted 45,987 emergency room consultations, treated 4,352 patients with malaria, and admitted 1,277 children into the inpatient therapeutic feeding center (ITFC), among others.

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