By Philip Buda Ladu
Ministry of Health in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), on June 4, 2025, officially opened a new 40-bed neonatal inpatient ward at Aweil State Hospital.
This significant development aims to vastly improve medical care for sick, low birth weight, and premature babies in Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State.
In a press statement extended to this outlet MSF said the state-of-the-art facility replaces the previous 33-bed neonatal ward, which frequently suffered from severe overcrowding, often accommodating over 45 infants at a time, and lacked adequate space for critical interventions like resuscitation.
“We had a neonatal ward, but it was always full or over its capacity,” stated Denis Mbae, MSF project coordinator for Aweil. “This new building, which is also closer to the maternity ward, will limit the distance that mothers have to walk to breastfeed their babies, while holding better equipment and amenities.”
The newly constructed ward boasts increased capacity and an improved design, providing essential space for incubators and life-support equipment crucial for vulnerable infants whose vital organs may not be fully developed.
A dedicated area for Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) will also facilitate skin-to-skin contact, a proven method for improving health outcomes for low-birth-weight infants.
As the only specialized unit of its kind in the state, the new ward offers a more spacious environment designed to enhance infection prevention, improve patient monitoring, and create better working conditions for staff.
The medical charity organization underscored that consolidating neonatal care under one roof will also allow for more effective follow-up and monitoring of patients.
MSF has been a vital partner to Aweil State Hospital since 2008, providing paediatric and maternity services in a region where limited peripheral health services and transportation challenges often hinder access to timely medical care.
In 2024 alone, MSF noted that it assisted in the delivery of 7,664 babies at the hospital.
This significant upgrade highlighted MSF’s unwavering commitment to enhancing healthcare access and improving outcomes for vulnerable families across South Sudan.