Times Of Swaziland: DON’T KILL US! DON’T KILL US! ================================================================================ Editor on 19/01/2021 09:07:00 As despondency among healthcare workers pollutes an already melancholic atmosphere, it removes the glimmer of hope that we desperately need for our critically ill relatives who are being rushed to health centres in droves. Many are not making it back home. It is evident to us all that our understaffed health workers are overwhelmed and overexposed due to an abnormally high number of COVID-19 infected patients being attended to daily – at times without a consistent supply of personal protective equipment (PPE). As a result, several nurses engaged in a go-slow in some health centres around the country, which affected hundreds of innocent patients. They cannot be faulted for feeling unappreciated when their concerns come secondary to the car allowances and perks paid out to politicians right in the middle of a health crisis. This ill-timed decision has opened floodgates of demands from numerous sectors that feel equally important. People are dying but some are more concerned about their allowances. It’s sickening. Health Minister Lizzie Nkosi says cash is not the problem, but the lack of PPE sizes and delayed deliveries from suppliers is where the challenge lies. This inefficiency is inexcusable and deadly; especially during this vicious second wave of COVID-19. The ministry has an obligation to resolve its logistical challenges as of yesterday. Nothing can appease the people more than the certainty of access to health facilities, where they deserve to find motivated staff as well as the requisite equipment such as the much needed oxygen. That said, we must appeal to our Florence Nightingales not to punish the innocent citizenry by withholding their invaluable service. We urge you to do what is feasible under the circumstances to save as many lives as you possibly can while your representatives engage government on addressing the existing challenges. Government must give these issues the priority they deserve. Don’t kill us!