Wau Teaching Hospital. | Courtesy.

Wau Teaching Hospital has run short of drugs after more than one year without receiving supplies from the national government, according to Western Bahr el Ghazal Health Minister.

Dr. Francis Michael is reacting to complains from the citizens who say they do not receive full prescriptions after being diagnosed with illnesses.

“We are receiving so many complains from citizens that when they go to the hospital for checkups  the medicines are not enough and they don’t receive all their prescriptions from the doctors,” he said.

According to Michael, the only referral infirmary in the greater Bahr el Ghazal region last received medical supplies from the national ministry of health in November 2022.

“In Wau Teaching Hospital, the issue of lack of drugs is one of the main problems, the last time we received our consignment of medicines from the national ministry of health was in November 2022,” said Dr. Francis Michael.

He said health workers struggling to cope with the shortages of drugs since Health Pooled Fund pulled out from the area.

Dr. Francis urged the government to prioritize the hospital and provide urgent medical supplies, citing many patients are being referred to the facility from across the region.

“When we talk about Wau Teaching Hospital, it is a referral hospital, it covers the greater Bahr el Ghazal region, Abyei Administrative Area and part of Western Equatoria, and they all receive medical services from Wau hospital,” he added.

Similar situation is faced in Western Equatoria where the state health authorities complained of prolonged drug shortages due to lack of supplies from the national government.

The government is working on a comprehensive plan to take a lead and kick-start a nation-wide primary health care sector reforms in June.