By staff writer
Citizens of Kajo-Keji County have had a sigh of relief after MSF brought in their helping hand to rescue the county in attending to major cases at the county’s main referral hospital devastated by the 2016 war, now making it a fully operational hospital.
According to Dr. Saviour Sekwat the Medical Director of Kajo-Keji civil hospital famously known as [Mundari Hospital] said it’s great that the main hospital is now bouncing back to operation since its destruction in 20216.
“It’s the first time we are receiving such assistance since the conflict that exiled a number of Kajo-Keji people to the camps leaving the hospital vandalized in 2016”. Sekwat said.
Dr. Sekwat revealed that as the only doctor in the county he had had challenges on referrals because some cases needed urgency but being alone it becomes very hard to pass via the border to Uganda side
“Our women who want to deliver are in a dire need, some of our mothers when they are about to deliver, they escape to the Ugandan side, and the border issue, most of our people here don’t have passport and you have to pay for immigration fees immigration permit making it difficult hence paying double” he recounted.
According to Dr. Sekwat 8 health partners are in Kajo-Keji but they are carrying out simple works “Most health partners rush for PHCC and PHCU were there’s small works but the coming of MSF will cover the gap and make the hospital a secondary one” he noted.
The Kajo-Keji civil hospital Medical Director added that with the presence of good health and security people living in the camp will come back home because those are the most necessities that people look for.
Meanwhile, Siji the MSF team project coordinator in Kajo-Keji said after six months of assessment and community meeting among the people in kajokeji they went back to Juba to do a lot of project proposals until they were allowed to come and operate in Kajo-Keji County.
She said the hospital will now have to operate fully as hospital but will require a lot of works in six months. “Incorporation of all the workers of the hospital, Full hospital running such as Maternity, OT emergency room and IPT” she highlighted.
Siji said they are going to start with the rehabilitation of the hospital before the medical activities and will start with the interns and in 2 to 3 months works will be done and saying they are working on logistics of other equipment’s to the country.
Kajo-Keji civil hospital serves as a regional referral hospital with a health science institute that closed during the war. Currently people have been using the Kangai Health Centre which is in the level of a Primary Healthcare Centre (PHCC).
Wani Simon Kajo-Keji County disease surveillance officer, said they are facing a lot of challenges mostly in referrals
“We are really in crisis and we hope this secondary care will be able to support and will be the only way for the returnees coming home” he said
Wani noted with concern the stress they go through when it comes to referrals, they find disaster in Uganda and going to Juba is a long way saying the coming of MSF will be of great help to them.
Currently the hospital requires massive renovation and the Central Equatoria State Minister of Health has on several fronts noted that the hospital is part of her plans to improving it.