By Zweli Martin Dlamini

SIDVOKODVO:Echo Vanderwal, the Executive Director of eSwatini’s last reliable and privately owned hospital-The Luke Commission has released a statement, announcing a decision to shutdown the health facility amid shortage of working resources, a decision that comes subsequent to an Executive Order signed by newly inaugurated United States(US) President Donald Trump halting or suspending donor funding.

Eswatini, a tiny Kingdom situated in Southern Africa and ruled by King Mswati as an absolute Monarch,has about 70% of the population living below the poverty line and, a majority of the citizens are struggling to afford quality healthcare services provided by expensive privately owned clinics.

The Luke Commission situated at Sidvokodvo about sixty(60) kilometers from the capital city-Mbabane, was previously saved by Parliament through Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo from shutting down after Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini refused to release R30million public funds previously allocated and approved to assist the hospital continue providing free and/or affordable healthcare services to emaSwati.

But even though the R30million was eventually released after Lubombo MP Futhie ‘MaMkhize’ Ngcamphalala threatened to move a motion, ‘kicking out’ Finance Minister Neal Rijikernberg and other relevant Ministers “working on the matter from Parliament until the payment is made,” it later transpired that, a large percentage of the financial support sustaining the hospital, came from the United States Government through US agencies supporting healthcare institutions in eSwatini.

Now it has emerged that, the Executive Order signed by the United States President, came at the time when the hospital was already considering shutting down amid high demand for health services with limited resources and this, was after the hospital was neglected and sabotaged by the eSwatini Government.

But in the press statement released this week by the Executive Director through Spokesperson Lindani Sifundza, the Luke Commission said, in 2023 alone, nearly three hundred thousand(300000) patients received healthcare services within the hospital and therefore, it’s closure will or might worsen the health crisis.

“In 2023 alone, TLC provided care for nearly 300,000 outpatients and 22,000 inpatient nights, with a significant percentage requiring high-dependency or ICU-level care. These figures represent 29% of all outpatient visits nationwide and an astonishing 88% of all HDU/ICU admissions in Eswatini. This care was provided without any allocation from the national healthcare budget, resulting in TLC accumulating overwhelming debt and forcing the institution to significantly decrease the number of patients treated and to retrench many staff.TLC’s mission is to ensure equitable access to healthcare for all, particularly the most vulnerable,” reads the press statement in part, sent to this Swaziland News by the Office of the Executive Director.

Reached for comments by this publication on Thursday afternoon, Mayibongwe Masangwane,the Secretary General of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union(SWADNU) said, the immediate closure of the Luke Commission marks the beginning of a new uncontrolled crisis within the eSwatini health system.

“You will recall that, The Luke Commission was providing health services that were no longer available in public hospitals and this means, the burden will now be upon the public hospitals that struggle with absolutely no resources,” said the Secretary General of the Nurses Union.

Eswatini has been struggling with a collapsed health system for sometime now, dozens have died within the various public hospitals since the crisis erupted with no political will to address it.