Aid post that serves 6000 people in Siassi runs out of supplies

National

THE MALAI aid post in ward 12 of the Siassi local level government area in Morobe serves almost 600 people but currently it is out of supplies, says community health worker Joshua Kanange.
With strong winds destroying food gardens, causing storm surges and bleaching food gardens with salt water, the chances of a diseases outbreak is high.
Kanange said the aid post sometimes went without basic drugs for more than four months and at the moment it could not support the population there.
“When I saw that I cannot support the patients with medication, I usually advice them to find other means such as use of herbal medicines,” he said.
He said sometimes people had to travel to Lae or Lablab Station on the main Umboi Island in search for medical care.
“Malaria has never been so severe on the island, but currently there is an outbreak on Malai Island,” Kanange said.
He said over the past three weeks, malaria cases were reported and drugs to treat patients were scarce so people went without treatment.
He said the only option was for him to seek help from Lablab Station but there was no supplies there.
As prevention measures, he had been conducting health awareness, telling people to take precautions when their aid post has no drugs.
“I feel sorry for the pregnant women and sick children. When the sea is rough, we cannot make it to Lablab to get assistance and that is a really a worry,” Kanange said.