Cancer facilities needed for treatment, says minister

CANCER treatment facilities are needed more than ever and work on building infrastructures for treatment must continue, shadow health minister Elias Kapavore says. He was commenting on the pause in construction of a new cancer centre at the Port Moresby General Hospital due to lack of funding. Hospital chief executive officer Dr Paki Molumi said last month that the construction of the country’s first modern cancer facility stopped last December because of a lack of funds. The total cost of the project is around K58.3 million. Kapavore urged the Government to allocate funding to allow the work to resume.  “The Government must allocate funding as a matter of critical health concern,” he said. “We can’t continue to delay this further. “More citizens are suffering from cancer compared to Covid-19-infected cases.” He said some cancer patients died during the Covid-19 lock down period. “This is why the previous government prioritised having a world-class cancer facility in the country,” he said.
He is concerned about the delay in the gazetting of a Cancer and Radiation Safety Regulation since 2019 and urged the Health Department to push the legislation. Kapavore said PNG needed world-class health facilities at the provincial and regional levels and improved rural facilities and services.