Napetait Primary Health Care Center in Kapoeta South, Eastern Equatoria State, is facing the burden of burial after several cholera victims’ bodies were abandoned by their loved ones.
Oting Joseph, the personnel in charge of the facility, said
the health center, with only eight staff members, recorded eight deaths on
Thursday and Friday, along with over 200 admissions since April 16, 2025.
“We buried two people. We mobilized the staff. Only the
staff are burying people because when the family heard that cholera is
infectious and contagious, and that touching a victim could spread the disease,
they became afraid,” Joseph said.
The facility reported that families chose to abandon the
bodies of their loved ones, despite being informed that they could bury the
cholera victims and bathe and change afterward, which would help prevent them
from contracting the disease.
“They leave now the responsibility to the health workers, and
we are very few and the cases are too many,” he said.
Jospeh said the unclaimed bodies left at the health facility
mostly belong to local miners from other counties who had come to Napetait in
search of livelihoods.
He said the facility had received six cartons of intravenous
(IV) fluids on Thursday from the partners but expressed concern that the supply
may not last long, as the number of daily cases continues to rise.
He called on both the state and national governments to
intervene, warning that the situation is worsening, and more people may die
from the infection.
As of Friday, the death toll at Napetait Primary Health Care
Center stood at 21, while Kapoeta Civil Hospital recorded 13 deaths, bringing
the total to 34 across the two health facilities.