FILE PHOTO: Dr. Thuou Loi, the former Health Ministry’s spokesperson - credit: Eye Radio

A senior official at the ministry of health has disclosed that a foreign health worker deployed at the Dr. John Garang Infectious Disease Center in 2020 was deported for incompetence.

The medical aid worker was employed by International Medical Corps (IMC) as an Emergency Specialist at Dr. John Garang Infectious Disease Unit.

An investigation by Al Jazeera published on Wednesday this week uncovered multiple allegations of corruption in the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The report alleged that the foreign medical aid worker was threatened by Dr. Thuou Loi.

According to Dr. Loi, the person in question is Dr. Edmund Nabena, a Nigerian national.

Dr. Nabena is reported to be a medical doctor who specialized in emergency medicine according to the IMC office records.

He was recruited and deployed to the IDU where he was supposed to be taking care of COVID-19 patients in his capacity as an emergency specialist.

The investigation by Aljazeera reported that the International Medical Corps decided to send its lead medic home to Nigeria in December 2020.

“The International Medical Corps, meanwhile, decided to send its lead medic home to Nigeria in December after reporting that he had been allegedly threatened by Thuou Loi, South Sudan’s then-director general of international health and coordination,” said part of Aljazeera investigation report.

“When asked about the medic, Dr. Loi told reporters the allegations were “misleading by all accounts”, but he wouldn’t say if he requested that the medic leave the country,” part of the report stated.

According to the IMC letter seen by The New Humanitarian and shared with Al Jazeera, IMC’s country head wrote to South Sudan’s health minister in December, saying that the situation was “unsettling”.

But Dr. Loi, who was the former spokesperson at the ministry of health told Eye Radio on Thursday that he did not threaten any foreign aid worker in the country.

He claims the Nigerian doctor lost his job due to incompetence.

Dr. Loi alleged that some Covid-19 patients died due to negligence from Dr. Nabena.

“He [Dr. Nabena] was not acting professionally in the John Garang infectious disease unit. I had a chance of being there for some days when some people that I know personally were admitted there and who later passed on,” Dr. Loi said.

“In front of me, three people passed on during those days. This particular doctor was reported to be an emergency specialist but he was not there to see patients.”

“He [Dr. Nabena] has never checked on any patients whatsoever until some people passed on. He [Dr. Nabena] was removed and was sent home and now a certain Aljazeera journalist claims government officials are threatening aid workers in the country.”

“I came to the conclusion that Dr. Edmund Nabena, who was reported to be an emergency specialist, is either not a competent doctor at all or was afraid of being infected by those COVID-19 patients. We cannot threaten any health worker in this country,” Dr. Loi concluded.

Dr. Edmund was employed as an emergency specialist, he was not here as a doctor, in fact he was just like a visitor.”

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020 in South Sudan, part of the current Dr. John Garang Infectious Diseases Unit was converted into an isolation unit for COVID-19 patients who needed care at the health facility level.

The unit is being supported by the World Health Organization and the International Medical Corps.

The investigation by Al Jazeera further accused the government of charging for COVID-19 tests that were supposed to be free.

It alleges health officials charged for certificates showing negative results that were required for ground and air travel.

The report also claimed that the government suspended hand sanitizer imports and allowed a small local company to be the sole producer, leading to a shortage.

It further asserted that millions of dollars went to renovate a coronavirus hospital, but it still stands empty.

Effort to reach the National Ministry of Health to comment on some of the allegations was not successful.