Swaziland’s blood shortage
crisis is continuing. It is one of a number of crises afflicting health in the
kingdom.
The Swazi
Observer reported on Tuesday (30
January 2018) that blood stocks fell during December 2017 because donors were
typically children who gave donations through their schools.
It reported a family of a
man suffering from bone marrow deficiency who feared he might die due to the blood shortage.
Deputy Director of Health
Dr Velephi Okello confirmed to the newspaper that there was a shortage. The Observer reported her saying, ‘Our
donors are mainly school going children hence when schools close there are
fewer donations coming in which resulted in the shortage.
‘Also, during the December
holidays, there is a high demand for blood at the exact same time when the
donors are not easily accessible.’
She added, ‘We will start
our campaigns now that the schools have opened and we hope soon the shortage
will be a thing of the past.’
The blood shortage crisis
has been going on since at least June 2017. At that time the Ministry of Health
turned to inmates in correctional facilities for blood but the news agency APA
reported some people were against
this ‘as they said it was against certain standards’.
Swaziland, which is ruled
by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, has been
gripped by a health crisis for a number of years. Much of it has been caused by
the government’s failure to pay drugs’ suppliers.
Early in January 2018
health facilities were reported to have run out of vaccines against polio and
tuberculosis and new-born babies were being put a risk.
In June 2017, Senator
Prince Kekela told parliament that at least five people had died as a result of
the drug shortages. About US$18 million was reportedly owed to drug companies in May 2017.
As ordinary people died the
Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini revealed that King Mswati and his mother paid
for him to travel to Taiwan for his own medical treatment. Dlamini was not elected PM by the people of
Swaziland. He was personally appointed by the King, as were all other
government ministers and top judges in the kingdom. None of Swaziland’s
senators are elected by the people.
Dlamini celebrated his 75th
birthday in 2017. The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati,
reported (5 June 2017), ‘The Prime Minister said he was grateful that when
Their Majesties were informed about his ailment in April, they responded
hastily and ordered that he be taken to the best doctors in Taiwan, Taipei.
‘“Their Majesties gave
orders that I go to the best and well experienced doctors in Taiwan. I am now
looking forward to turning 76 years and I thank God for keeping me safe,” he
said.’
The nature of his illness
has not been publicly revealed.
King Mswati lives a lavish
lifestyle with at least 13 palaces, a private jet aircraft with another due to
arrive in 2018, and fleets of top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars. Meanwhile
seven in ten of his 1.2 million subjects live in abject poverty with incomes of
less than US$2 per day.
See also
MEDICINE SHORTAGE: FIVE DIE
DRUG SHORTAGE CRISIS DEEPENS
SWAZI
GOVT ‘KILLING ITS OWN PEOPLE’
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2017/05/swazi-govt-killing-its-own-people.html
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