There is concern in military circles that the SA Military Health Service was not providing SA National Defence Force troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with adequate medical support, the Afrikaans daily Beeld reported on Thursday.
The paper said the problems encountered by its reporter during a visit to the South African contingent of Monuc, the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC, ranged from a lack of foot powder and oxygen to serious cases of HIV/Aids.
The Ministry of Defence blamed the problems on blockages in the UN’s logistics system, and said all would be well once shipping containers packed with vital equipment arrived at Kindu, the South African base.
But Beeld said it was told the problem lay in Pretoria where the deployment of the medics had been poorly planned and their equipment and supplies haphazardly packed.
”Other serious problems the ministry would not comment on are how it could have happened that the first medical casualty was a soldier with terminal HIV/Aids and tuberculosis,” the paper said.
According to UN guidelines, the entire South African contingent should have been tested for HIV and other serious illnesses before departure. Those testing positive should not have been deployed. The second casualty was a soldier with a long history of mental problems who reportedly said he had been forced to deploy in the
DRC. The third had been suffering from ulcers ”for years” and had to be sent home with internal bleeding.
As far as equipment was concerned, the team had to cope without oxygen although they had been supplied a ventilator (which required an oxygen cylinder to work).
Although there was nearly no foot powder or mosquito deterrent, there was plenty of medication for post-menopausal women, post-natal pharmaceuticals and antidote for insecticides.
The team also has four wheelchairs, but no beds, tables or chairs. Patients were being examined while sitting on steel trunks. Dozens of paediatric neck supports had been supplied, but none for adults, and ten thousand bedpan covers were delivered — but no bedpans. – Sapa