…Country now has 350 health care facilities
BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE -The Prime Minister Cleopas Sipho Dlamini has mentioned that the government was working hard to ensure that the country’s health facilities provided all the services they were mandated to offer.
The PM was speaking during the opening of Ezulwini Private Hospital, yesterday.
He said it was no longer a secret that public healthcare facilities were engulfed by a number of challenges that had crippled the services they had to provide.
“It is known that the public sector is not in a good position when it comes to health services as it is expected to be,” he said.
The PM said they were working around the clock to sort the challenges that had engulfed the health sector.
He further promised that in no time, the challenges will be sorted and they will be a thing of the past. He said it could not be said that the country was developing just by having beautiful buildings.He said it was crucial for health facilities to have medication.
Meanwhile the Minister of Health, Lizzie Nkosi, explained that one of the guiding principles in the ministry’s healthcare strategic plan was partnering in planning and delivering healthcare services.
Nkosi said the establishment of the hospital was a practical example of this principle. It has not only added to the network of facilities but also to the package of healthcare services that can be found in the country.
“We are grateful to SwaziMed for the vision of the hospital that would meet the needs of their beneficiaries as well as improving the services that can be accessed closer to their families,” she said.
Nkosi added that SwaziMed had, over the years, supported the Ministry of Health to address some of the needs that emerged as they endeavour to deliver healthcare to all emaSwati.
She outlined some of the assistance the country received in the past few years as 15 tanks to health service centres to the tune of E70 000 and renovated ICU and donated beds.
Yearly, the minister said, SwaziMed donates to the annual dental outreach that is organised by Mbabane Rotary Club, where dental services are donated to chosen schools.
“We support the private and public partnership in order to make better use of our resources and to prioritise more comprehensive and choice care for emaSwati,” she said.
The minister stated that the mix of public and private healthcare centres in the country’s health services saved the Kingdom of Eswatini for decades. She highlighted that in 1968 the country had 60 healthcare facilities, 30 were privately owned, while the other 30 were owned by the government. Nkosi added that the country now boasted of nearly 350 healthcare facilities. Government owned 134 of them.
