By Peter Lokale Nakimangole
TORIT, 22 December 2009 (Gurtong) –The Assembly legislators made the proposal during the third reading of the health Bill on Thursday, where they also said the Ministry should be adequately supplied and stocked with drugs and more qualified staff recruited.
They decried the decline in provision of health services and lack of trained personnel in many health facilities in the state including Torit Civil Hospital, which they attributed to insufficient funding.
The Chairperson of Economic, Finance and Public Accounts Committee Honourable Arungole Rhino Loremo, who read the recommendations said that lack of funding to the Health Ministry has continued to hamper operations at Torit Civil Hospital.
“The current government hospital that is heavily relied upon by state residents has continued to deteriorate to the extent that it doesn’t have qualified doctors and nurses. We wonder the quality of service the patients get from untrained personnel. They require proper upgrading so to deliver effective services to the people of the state”, he said.
Eastern Equatoria State Minister for Health Honourable Florence Nighty Otto concurred that her ministry has been badly affected by lack of technical personnel besides lack of finances.
She appealed to the government to allocate sufficient funds for the health sector cautioning that the situation may worsen if no one pays urgent attention to the state’s health facilities.
“Apart from shortage of manpower, the health department in Eastern Equatoria State lacks adequate structures and periodically runs short of drugs”, said the Minister.