Presidential guards join waste management campaign
The Presidential guards of Tiger Division have joined hands with the health authorities in a mass cleaning campaign to eradicate solid waste in Juba Teaching Hospital.
The cleaning campaign which began on Thursday at the hospital will involve all the public places and residential areas to ensure solid waste is collected and decomposed to prevent infectious diseases.
Medical students from the Upper Nile University and members of the Doctors Union also joined part in the campaign being supported by the icap Global Health and Trinity Energy Limited in collaboration with the Juba City Council authorities
“We want to make it one of our programs to ensure the whole city is clean. It is a part of our social responsibilities as soldiers to protect the country’s sovereignty and citizens and to ensure that they are safe from diseases by cleaning the environment they stay in,” said Brig. Joseph Manyang Yak of Tiger Battalion.
“It is very important that we support and encourage civilian population living in South Sudan and they too encourage us. As soldiers, if there is any disaster like fire outbreak, floods, and waste that needs manpower, we come in to provide support. That is why we come to clean Juba Hospital.”
This marked the second cleanup at Juba Teaching Hospital by President Salva Kiir’s guards. In 2020, Tiger Battalion took part in a mass cleanup of Juba City streets, public places, and healthcare centers in the capital, Juba.
Waste management at Juba Teaching Hospital has been a challenge to the administration due to limited resources exacerbated by South Sudan’s economic crisis that crippled most government’s developmental plans during the five years of civil war.
The Administrator of the Juba Teaching Hospital Dr. Maker Isaac lamented the challenges the facility has been facing.
“Today we are happy. The hospital is supposed to be clean and not a place where patients can get infected. I thank the leadership of the Ministry of Health and the Tiger Division for the wonderful work they have done.”
The Undersecretary in the National Ministry of Health Victoria Anib Major commended the Tiger Battalion leadership for ensuring citizens were protected from infectious diseases, calling on the forces to continue to deliver on their social responsibility in the country.
“I give special thanks to Tiger Battalion. In health, a clean environment matters a lot to prevent infectious diseases. We need the hospital to be clean, including all the environment for the psychology of the patients.” Ms. Anib said.
Addressing the media on the same occasion, Central Equatoria Minister of Health Nejuma Juma called on all the citizens to join hands with the government to clean and save the environment.
We have social responsibility toward our country because cleaning of the hospital is not only for the hospital staff, it is the responsibility of all. We should therefore take this as our culture to live in a clean environment
