The Northern Bahr El Ghazal State Council of Ministers on Friday passed a budget for health interventions during upcoming general elections, health officials said.
Riiny Riiny, the state’s caretaker health minister, told Radio Tamazuj over the weekend that he submitted the proposal to the council of ministers, which passed it on Friday.
“I submitted the proposed budget to the state council of ministers because elections attract many gatherings of voters, and we know that period will be summer with a lot of diseases that need health interventions,” he said. “The Council of Ministers successfully passed the USD 88,000 budget. The governor, minister of finance and I will have a closed meeting to mobilize the budget at the state level, and a portion may be covered by the central government in Juba.”
Ayai Deng, an inhabitant of Awiel Town, warmly welcomed the initiative and commended the government for stepping up health precautions and measures ahead of the polls.
“It is a positive idea from the state government to pass the health budget because health problems easily happen if medical personnel are not employed to address illnesses,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Peter Diing Ngong, the Information Secretary for Northern Bahr El Ghazal State Civil Society Network, said peace, security and health are very important elements during elections.
“Peace, security and health-related interventions are very important during the elections,” he said. “We need peace to prevail in the state before the elections.”
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