Vehicles for hospitals

THE Enga health authority is giving six vehicles to district hospitals and an ambulance to the Baptist Hospital in Kompiam.
The vehicles, purchased by the provincial government, were given  to the  provincial health authority.
Governor Sir Peter Ipatas presented them to the chief executive officer of the provincial health authority, A’aron Luai, last Friday in Wabag.
Luai said the donation came at the right time because district nursing officers needed transport to conduct health patrols in rural areas due to infant and maternal mortality was still high due to preventable diseases and child birth complications.
He said that the vehicles would be under the control of district nursing officers who were the managers of the maternal and child health clinic patrols.
He said no other district health workers would use these vehicles.
Luai also thanked the Whole Health Organisation for donating a fully-kitted vehicle to transport immunisation vaccines to districts under its Western Pacific Programme.
Luai said that while infants and mothers dying in districts, MPs representing the districts have done very little to help.
He claimed that vehicles purchased by the MPs were left with political cronies who used them as private vehicles to ferry passengers.
“I do not want nursing officers to do the same, I want you all to use the vehicles for intended purpose only and nothing else,” he said.
Sir Peter said that health was one of his top priorities apart from education.
He said that donor agencies entered into partnerships with his government to deliver quality health services.
He said that Asian Development Bank funded four community health posts at the cost of K4.5 million each.
He said that AusAID funded one girl’s dormitory and a students’ mess at the cost of K4.5 million.
“Now we have World Health Organisation coming in and national government funded a new Enga hospital at the cost of K360 million,” Ipatas said.
He appealed to his people to look after the services provided so that they will last long to benefit generations to come.