THERE is hope for improvement in the country’s health sector as His Majesty King Mswati III has assured the nation that he would expect progress reports on efforts to solve the health crisis in hospitals.
He said this when addressing the nation during the official opening of the Road Crash Stabilization Centre worth E2 million at Ntfonjeni yesterday.
Speaking about the country’s overall health sector, the king noted that the nation had complaints about the unavailability of medication in the country’s hospitals. He said the new centre by the Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund in partnership with the Ministry of Health (Eswatini) was another way to address the health challenges in the country by availing medical services to communities.
He noted that the nation needed to access immediate health services in the country’s hospitals, so the health challenges currently facing local health institutions need to be addressed as soon as possible.
“Medication had been bought, but no one knows where they disappeared to. These are issues that need to be analysed and addressed so that there could be improvement,” the king said.
His Majesty stated that he would be following up on what is being done to address this challenge in the country’s health facilities and expect progress reports on the same.
Nonetheless, the king mentioned that he had been informed that advancements towards improving the medication issues in hospitals were underway.
Back to the development of the centre by the MVA Fund, His Majesty commended the entity for its role in ensuring that road accident victims had access to medical care urgently, which would prevent the loss of life. In this regard, he noted that the fund first built a clinic in Mbabane, and now the stabilisation centre at Ntfonjeni.
He said this was but the beginning as the fund was yet to construct similar facilities in other communities around the country.
The king said the fund had diligently carried out its mandate by first keeping its finances, some of which were contributed by the nation, safe and not misusing them.
“Some people end up thinking that the money belongs to them to a point where there are bo loslina,” he said.
Also, the king said not only will the centre in Ntfonjeni attend to road accident victims, but also citizens from nearby communities with other emergency medical needs. He said the facility was furnished with hi-tech equipment which is at par with international standards.
Further, His Majesty stated that the MVA Fund had been put to good use as not only were health facilities built, but it also purchased six advanced life-saving ambulances worth E13 million.
He said these ambulances, one of which has already been stationed at the base, would ensure that accident victims receive medical attention as quickly as possible.
Furthermore, the king said paramedics and other healthcare workers have already been deployed to work at the stabilisation centre at Ntfonjeni.
He stressed that the development of such medical infrastructure is vital for strengthening the country’s health system and improving access to emergency care.
“All this has been done for the love of the nation,” the king said.
Even so, he warned that while government continues to invest in emergency services and trauma centres, preventing accidents remains the responsibility of every road user.
Context: Why the Stabilisation Centre Matters
The Road Crash Stabilisation Centre at Ntfonjeni is designed to provide immediate emergency care to accident victims before referral to major hospitals. Facilities like this are critical in trauma management, where the first hour after injury, often called the “golden hour” significantly affects survival rates.
