By Bongiwe Dlamini

MBABANE:The People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) has noted with great concern the escalating number of deaths in the country amid shortage of drugs in public hospitals.

In a New Year Statement released by Deputy Secretary General (DSG) Maxwell Dlamini and sent to this Swaziland News, the Eswatini main liberation movement said the public healthcare system “remains” in a state of collapse.

“The public healthcare system remains in a state of collapse. Hospitals and clinics across the country, including Mbabane Government Hospital, Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, and facilities in Shiselweni and Lubombo are characterized by chronic drug shortages, broken equipment, and understaffing and corruption-ridden procurement systems. PUDEMO notes with deep anger the shocking increase in the number of Swazi families who have unnecessarily lost their loved ones in public hospitals. These deaths are not inevitable; they are the result of neglect and mis-governance. The government’s failure to consistently provide dialysis services has condemned patients to slow and painful deaths, while the permanent absence of blood at the national blood bank has turned routine medical emergencies into death sentences,” said the PUDEMO Deputy Secretary General.

On another note, PUDEMO further condemned the continued plight of un-hired doctors and medical professionals, alongside interns who have remained in compulsory internships for over two years without salaries, while communities die for lack of care. 

“This is not incompetence, it is criminal neglect of public duty,” reads the statement in part.