Yei Civil Hospital Runs Out of Malaria and Typhoid Drugs

(YEI RIVER COUNTY) – Patients at Yei Civil Hospital, the main referral health facility in Yei River County, say they are facing growing difficulties due to a shortage of essential medicines. For several months, the hospital has lacked drugs to treat common diseases, leaving patients with little choice but to seek costly treatment at private clinics within the town.

Patients told Access Radio® that essential drugs for illnesses such as typhoid, malaria and ulcers are no longer available at the hospital. Many are being referred to private pharmacies and clinics to purchase medicines that should normally be provided by public health facilities.

One patient, Alex Ladu, who sought treatment last week, explained that he was referred by health workers to buy drugs from a private clinic. The cost, he said, was far beyond what many ordinary residents could afford.

“I cannot afford to buy medicines from the clinic because it is too expensive. What we want is for the government to supply this main hospital with essential drugs so that common citizens can get treatment at public health facilities.”

Another patient, Amani Grace, also expressed concern about the lack of supplies. She said her son, who was suffering from malaria, was not able to receive the anti-malaria injection he needed at the hospital. Instead, she too was referred to an outside clinic to purchase the treatment.

“We were told there are no drugs here and these are real challenges facing the common citizens. We call on the concerned government ministries to ensure that Yei Hospital is supported with medicines to save the lives of poor women and children in the county.”

More Community members have called for urgent action from both the state and national governments to ensure that Yei Civil Hospital and other public facilities are adequately supplied with drugs.

Efforts to reach the hospital’s director for comment were not successful at the time of publication.

The shortage comes despite recent efforts by the national government to improve medicine distribution. On 26 July 2025, the Minister of Health, Hon. Sarah Cleto Rial, visited the national medicines warehouse in Juba to oversee the launch of a distribution campaign.

The initiative, which was carried out with Undersecretary Dr Aninn Ngot Ngot Mou, marked the start of dispatching medical supplies to five states and administrative areas in a bid to reinforce healthcare delivery across the country.

However, patients in Yei River County say they have yet to feel the impact of this national campaign.

Yei Civil Hospital Drug Shortage