By Matik Kueth
The National Minister of Health, Yolanda Awel, has called on the government to boost funding for the country’s healthcare system, emphasizing that without adequate financial support, the Ministry cannot effectively deliver essential services.
Speaking at the High-Level National Dialogue and Engagement on HIV Prevention at Juba’s Pyramid Hotel on Tuesday, Awel highlighted the urgent need for resources to address critical health challenges.
“If we don’t put more in social services in our country, then we are lying and cheating ourselves. There are complaints that the Ministry of Health and its subsidiaries like the SACARE and DFCA and you name it. We are not giving services,” Awel said.
She lamented the difficulty of helping patients on time when there are no services like ambulances to carry them from one location to another.
“We are not giving services, we are not doing this. We are not doing that. How can we be giving services when we are not being given resources? So, can somebody explain to me how are you supposed to be transporting a patient from point ‘X’ to point ‘B’ when you don’t have an ambulance? It is a reality that we need to accept. We need to accept that the more we invest in the health sector, the more the services we will actually get better. The more our people will not just die of this thing that they should not be dying of,” she stressed.
She further noted that the effects of climate change have also made it more difficult to provide services to other parts of the nation, as most towns have been submerged by flooding.