Authority to improve health in capital city, says minister

THE new National Capital District health authority (NCDPHA) will help improve the health of the people living in the capital city, Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS Jelta Wong says.
NCDPHA was launched yesterday by Wong with a partnership agreement and swearing in of the inaugural PHA board chaired by David Toua.
Toua is the Steamships corporate affairs general manager and a member of the PNG Business Council.
Wong also announced that under the NCDPHA system, the general hospital would now be called the NCD provincial hospital.
The acting chief executive officer of the NCDPHA is Dr Jerry Tanumei, who was formerly the NCD health service director.
Wong said NCDPHA was the last PHA to be established under the PHA Act of 2017 following the Chimbu PHA which was launched by the then Health Minister Elias Kapavore on Nov 8.
“We are aware of the poor health indicators that the country is experiencing,” he said.
“We must act decisively now to correct this dilemma.
“A good systematic approach is needed to address the challenging healthcare issues faced every day,”
He said establishing PHA was one of the key reforms in the health sector under the PHA Act to address the issues and challenges facing the health system.
“PHA is the recipe for elimination of programme and resource duplication, the prevention of confusion and improvement in the management of health service delivery.”