By Deng Ghai Deng
Bentiu State Hospital (BSH) in Unity State, on Thursday inaugurated a newly rehabilitated 48-bed pediatric unit.
National and state Ministry of Health renovated the unit with support from medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders.
The Paediatric unit will provide both outpatient and inpatient services, including vaccinations, malaria treatment, and support for emergency admissions.
For nearly a decade, MSF has been delivering essential healthcare services to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the surrounding host communities in Bentiu.
Their extensive services have included an emergency room, surgery, maternity, neonatal and pediatric care, as well as an adult inpatient department with a capacity of 135 beds.
In 2023 alone, MSF conducted nearly 46,000 emergency consultations and treated thousands for various health issues, including malaria and measles.
The launch of the pediatric unit is part of a broader strategy to transition all primary and secondary healthcare services from the Bentiu IDP camp to BSH by 2025.
James Mutharia, MSF project coordinator for the Bentiu hospital transition, emphasized the importance of this partnership in ensuring continued, free healthcare for the community.
“This is the first step towards a partnership with the State Ministry of Health that will ensure continuity of healthcare provision, as MSF gears up to restore its emergency response capacity,” Mutharia stated.
MSF plans to progressively transfer additional services—including maternity and surgical care—to BSH, ensuring minimal disruption to patients during the transition.
Mutharia reassured the community that all MSF-supported services will remain free of charge throughout this process.