UNMISS is funding the construction of a new outpatient department for Bor Hospital, scheduled to be completed in January 2021 (©unmiss.unmissions.org)

MACH SAMUEL

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan is funding the construction of a new outpatient department at Bor Hospital, which will include an emergency room, a pharmacy and offices.

“I have been waiting here for hours and I have not yet seen a doctor. The addition to the hospital will provide space for the doctors to carry out their job,” says Mary Ajoh Deng, a mother of six seeking medical services for two of her children.

Medical Director Dr. Bol Chaw is equally content with what is to come.

“We are grateful that they came up with the funds, almost 100,000 dollars. I am happy that we will have this new, spacious building,” he says.

The new facilities, set to be operational by January 2021, will serve several functions, including treatment and monitoring of minor illnesses and emergencies, thus offering the limited inpatient department much-needed relief.

“This is a referral hospital serving all of Jonglei State. I am pleased that we can contribute to the health and well-being of its citizens,” says Deborah Schein, Head of the peacekeeping mission’s field office in the region.

The new outpatient department, to be built by the national non-governmental organization Hope South Sudan, will replace a previous incarnation, demolished a few months ago because its precarious state was deemed dangerous.

Patients from Bor and beyond will no doubt cherish the hospital’s increased capacity. The health care facilities are currently overwhelmed, not least by persons who have been displaced by floods and are in need of medical attention.

Most primary health care centres in Jonglei State and the neighbouring Greater Pibor Administrative Area have also been flooded, adding to the pressure placed on the Bor hospital.