Association donates medical items

By DULCIE OREKE
THE Friends of Infant Nurseries Association yesterday donated K5,000 worth of medical supplies to the Port Moresby General Hospital paediatric ward.
The donation comprised chloramphenicol flucloxacillin, penta vite drops, panadol, vallergan syrup, feeding tubes and gloves, among others.  
“Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. Hence, a country’s most important resource is its children, which includes infants,” association general secretary JK Balasubramaniam said.
He said infants needed nurturing to grow and contribute to the national building process.
“However, the greatest threat is the infant mortality rate during child birth and sickness among children,” he said.
Director medical services David Mokela commended the association for targeting children.
He said with the high infant mortality, “the department is giving priority to child health”.
The association’s objectives are: 
* Facilitating the welfare of infants left without parents and relatives, particularly infant victims of HIV/AIDS;
* Provide the doctor or sister in charge with some money for buying necessities where there was an urgent need;
* Provide a facility at a convenient pharmacy where the doctors or sister in charge could obtain urgent pharmaceuticals until supplies were brought through the normal supply channels;  and 
* Enable interested people to make small contributions towards the welfare of infant nurseries, particularly abandoned infants.