Mbabane – Members of Parliament have raised alarm over what they describe as a worsening collapse of Eswatini’s healthcare system, accusing the Ministry of Health of misleading the nation about the scale of the crisis.
This follows a forceful petition by healthcare workers in Mbabane who, during a recent parliamentary session, demanded urgent government action to address severe shortages that they say are leading to preventable deaths across the country. The professionals, already stretched thin, warned that the situation is spiralling beyond control.
According to the petition, patients are dying due to a lack of basic medical supplies and life-saving drugs. Health staff report being overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted as they work without the tools needed to perform their duties. Many say they feel powerless and demoralised as they watch patients suffer due to shortages that have persisted for months.
MPs accused the Ministry of downplaying the severity of the situation, saying that misleading information from officials has eroded public trust and hindered potential solutions. Some Parliamentarians questioned whether the ongoing dysfunction was the result of negligence or a calculated attempt to dismantle public healthcare through chronic underfunding and a failure to invest in critical infrastructure.
Healthcare workers have demanded swift action on six fronts: the immediate provision of essential medical supplies, urgent recruitment to fill critical staffing gaps, improved working conditions and pay, workplace security, increased government funding for the sector, and more transparency from the Ministry about the depth of the crisis.
Discussion about this post