JUBA, August 20, 2024 – Acting Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) Chief Whip Peter Francis Lomude criticized health authorities for allowing unqualified individuals to operate as doctors in South Sudan, warning that lives are at risk due to the influx of foreign quacks setting up hospitals.
Lomude, a member of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), raised the issue in the House on Tuesday, citing several cases of misdiagnosis, including a recent incident in the Atlabara residential area where a woman died after receiving incorrect treatment at a clinic owned by Eritreans.
“My information is in relation to the number of foreign doctors who are operating in this country. The day before yesterday, we had a relative who complained of fever but when she went to one of the clinics owned by some Eritreans in Atlabara, she was injected without a checkup and she died,” Lomude said.
He urged the House to protect citizens from being exploited by unqualified foreign practitioners and called for a lasting solution, noting that while some suspect clinics have been shut down, more needs to be done. Lomude also demanded that the Minister for Health and the health council be summoned to explain why these individuals are permitted to operate as doctors.
