Where would you find such beds?

I work for an international NGO… We support primary health-care services- meaning we contract out other NGOs to provide direct support to the health facilities: to improve health services, provide equipment, make infrastructural improvements (mainly minor renovations) etc.

The health facilities we currently support were previously supported by another organization which had quite similar in objectives to this; improving the standards of the health facility and to strengthen primary health-care system. So for about 5+ years, these facilities have been donor funded

Last week I was out in the field, for supervision, and basically to see how things are going, what improvements are being made etc. One of my key focus areas is infection prevention.

I walked into the admissions ward of this particular health facility and these are the beds I found. This was not an abandoned room, this was a room being used to admit critically ill patients.

The walls of the health facility have not obviously not been painted in ... years, stains are visible on  the floor and the walls. This room is STILL in use.

Not only is this obviously a prime source of infection- considering the clients admitted to the admissions wardmost likely already have a compromised immune system, but it is unacceptable to allow anyone (even someone healthy) to sleep in matresses in this state. These mattresses should have been burned a long time ago. Not discarded, burned to ash- at least if we are being serious. 

It would be better to lie on the floor, to be honest as one would probably be less at risk of picking up infection(s).

All this has left me wondering and questioning: what exactly are we doing?  How can we honestly say that we are funding primary health-care if this is the state of our health facilities, a year, almost two after we begun supporting them?

Not only that, at one health facility there was no soap for handwashing. And the supporting agency was very quick to say; there is no budget. 

Soap costs 2 South Sudanese pounds.  

I really question this whole idea of donor funding.