Tougher rules on imported food eyed

THE Papua New Guinea Medical Society will partner  Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (ICCC), other corporate organisations and relevant government departments to regulate food imported into the country, an official says.
Medical Symposium 2017 organising committee treasurer Dr Paki Molumi (pictured) said such measures were future plans for the society to protect people’s health and make sure they ate right and healthy food.
“We are trying to get the medical society organised in terms of accountability and seeing the vision of it so we want to partner with corporate organisations and other organisations on how we can work together to address health issues,” Dr Molumi said.
“Health is everybody’s issues, it’s not for medical society or nurses and doctors or the Health Department.
“In the future, we will see what is the interest in health so we can come up together to regulate some of the food that comes into the country.
“Those are long-term goals.”
Dr Molumi said the 2017 Medical Symposium would allow them to
draft a national surgical and anaesthetic policy to be included in the National Health Plan so funding could be provided by the department to improve surgery in rural areas.
“It’s for a good cause for our Papua New Guineans to have access to surgery.
“In Port Moresby, we realise that we can go anywhere but
think about the population – somebody in Telefomin or somebody
in the bushes of West New
Britain trying to have access to surgery.
“It’s very difficult, so this symposium is trying to address that.”