EES troubled as Health Pooled Fund pulls out
This means that medical staff who have been supported by the Eastern Equatoria State government has raised concerns over the suspension of health services in the state by the Health Pooled Fund.
The Health Pooled Fund is South Sudan’s largest health-care program, serving nine of the country’s ten states.
However, the Health Pooled Fund has recently announced that it is slashing its support for the state’s ministry of health, a move that would cease support for some health facilities.
Torit State Hospital is among the state’s hospitals that will no longer be obtaining support from HPF beginning next month.
HPF will be rendered vulnerable, and the supply of medical products will also be ceased.
HPF will only continue to support 57 primary health care units and 34 primary health care centres in the country.
In his remarks yesterday, the State Minister of Health Lodai Paschalino Romeo said, “we invited the health partners to hold a special meeting relating to the recent announcement of HPF withdrawing support from some of the health facilities nationwide.”
“We have Torit Hospital as one of the health facilities that may not be receiving this support and that is why we came here to deliberate on this and engage other partners to see how we can support them, also looking at the government itself on how best to cover up the gaps that have been created,” said Lodai.
He called on the government and other stakeholders to come to the rescue of Torit State Hospital since it is the only referral facility in Eastern Equatoria State.
Lodai lamented that they were not pleased with the information about the reduction of health support by the HPF.
“This calls upon the government and other stakeholders to come in and see how they will support this main state hospital.” We as a government are feeling bad; we have negotiated, we have advocated, but up to this point, we have not been able to do much.
‘‘We would only ask other stakeholders and even engage the government parastatals to see how we can mobilise resources to cover up,” he stressed.
Lodai said they were making all efforts to ensure the hospital is covered and operating normally.
“Torit referral hospital will be one of the places that is affected, but we have already sat down, and we have put down ways forward on how we can maintain the staff and keep the facility running.
‘‘The health facility will continue operating as we deliberate on how we will mobilise extra resources with partners and the government to keep our operation,” he said.
