By Chuol Chanyong

Member of Parliament for Aweil East constituency in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, Hon. Ani Deng Akok, has cautioned of deepening health crisis at the Aweil East Teaching Hospital after doctors at the hospital went on strike, for a period of now more than two weeks.

The doctors had downed tools due to the cessation of their financial incentives, which they had been receiving for years.  The strike, according to the legislature, has exacerbated the health crisis in the region, leading to the deaths of 23 patients so far.

According to the MP, some of the patients who died were suffering from various ailments and conditions, such as asthma, surgical wounds among other critical ailments, but there were no specialists to attend to them as all of them have been on strike.

“We are experiencing real human suffering in the Aweil East County as a result of the doctors’ strike at the teaching hospital.”

“The doctors have been working for more than 5 years with the government of the former governor. And there was an incentive to provide the previous government with an amount of seventeen thousand (17) dollars per month in exchange for their services. But after the new governor took office, the incentives were stopped and the doctors’ requests were rejected,” Hon. Akok said.

A source from the hospital said that the doctors resorted to the strike after exhausting all peaceful means to solve the chhallenge, stressing that they bear a great responsibility towards the health of citizens, but they cannot continue working without obtaining their financial rights.

The doctors’ strike angered citizens and officials of Aweil East, who suffer from a severe shortage of health services. The locals have called on relevant authorities to intervene urgently to resolve this crisis and save the lives of patients.  Many parties have since tried to intervene to resolve this crisis, including UNICEF, which provided small incentives to doctors, but these attempts failed.