Jonglei State faces severe drugs shortage amidst malaria surge

Authorities in Jonglei State have raised concerns over the drug shortages amidst a surge in malaria cases in the state.

However, many people in the state do not receive treatment promptly due to the acute shortage of medicine in the state hospital.

Mabior Kiir Kudior, the Chief of Planning and Information for Public Health in the Ministry of Health, said the state has no essential drugs to treat its patients.

“Jonglei State has a shortage of medication. The hospital has no medicine to administer to the patients. There was an organisation called Medical Del Mundo- MDM a Spain organisation that was operating in Bor hospital, but MDM ran short of funds in August this year, leading to the suffering of the healthcare workers. ” he explained.

The shortage of malaria antimalarial drugs has also been reported in Fangak County, where up to 200 cases of malaria are reported daily.

MSF (Doctors Without Borders) reports a 200 per cent increase in malaria cases recorded at the MSF-supported hospital in Fangak.

Emilie Aliya, Project medical reference for Doctors without Borders—MSF, says the hospital has seen a significant spike in malaria cases.

This year has been particularly intense, with the community facing a clear peak in malaria cases compared to the previous year of 2020.

“We see a rise of 200 per cent. So indeed, it affects public health. We have people of all ages presenting to our outpatient department or emergency room who have been diagnosed with malaria through testing.

Mabior said the shortage of malaria drugs is putting many lives at risk.

 He added, “They don’t have any medicine in the store. Essential medicines are not there, and therefore it makes the situation worse for the citizens of Jonglei State.”

According to Mabior, Fancida and ACT are the only medicines available in the National Drugs Authority stores.

According to a local radio station, last month, the state health minister, Atong Kuol, said the government health facilities across the state had run out of life-saving drugs, making life difficult for people seeking medical care.

Kuol said the nine counties had not received drugs for the past six months, making life difficult for patients, mostly women, children, and the elderly.

Most patients who came to the facility had sought treatment from the state’s main referral facility—Bor State Hospital and other hospitals across the state.

Malaria is one of South Sudan’s top three causes of child mortality. The importance of early treatment in surviving the disease cannot be overstated.

However, the national ministry of health is expecting the shipment of drugs to arrive in the country on December 12.