South Sudan faces health challenges
Lacking staff and supplies, Khartoum’s support will be key for country to be born on July 9.
South Sudan will face major health challenges when it becomes the world’s youngest country follwing its secession from the North on July 9.
Medical staff in the south do their best with what they have, but they don’t have enough staff, equipment or drugs to take care of their nation’s needs.
Debora Bol, the minister of health in the Unity State, told Al Jazeera that previously, many supplies were brought from Khartoum.
“Now, we don’t have any way to bring these drugs from Khartoum because they [the government] block the road and there is no access,” she said.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says he will work with the south after it gains independence, but if northern support isn’t strong enough, finding affordable alternatives is a major priority.
Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa reports from Bentiu in southern Sudan.