Centre gets vaccine refrigerators

Children and pregnant mothers in Hela will now benefit from refrigerators for storing vaccines for life-threatening diseases like TB, pneumonia, whooping cough, diphtheria, measles, polio and tetanus.
Oil Search Foundation (OSF), working with United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) and other partners, delivered 11 vaccine fridges to health facilities in a programme that will boost immunisation for children under five years and protect pregnant mothers against diseases.
“Today we shed tears of joy for this gift we received from Unicef and Oil Search Foundation. Thank you, is all we can say – only God knows the gratitude in our hearts,” officer in charge of Wanikipa Health Centre, Johnsy Inni said.
“We have not received such equipment for health service delivery in Wanikipa in the past. You are the first to come.”
Wanikipa village is remotely located on the borders of Hela, Enga, West Sepik and Western and lacks proper road access besides many other basic infrastructure and services.
“The health centre was opened in 2002. It had some medical equipment but that has deteriorated,” Inni said
“For the last five years we did not have a vaccine fridge so immunisation activities have been very poor.”
Foundation chief executive Kymberley Kepore said: “Hela has below-average immunisation coverage and the 11 fridges would greatly improve the health of children in the province.
“Immunisation is critical to the survival of children and these fridges will help the national, provincial and district health immunisation programmes to prevent outbreaks of diseases like measles and others.”
Hela health authority chief executive Dr Gunzee Gawin praised the partnership between United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund and foundation to deliver the equipment to Hela.
OSF purchased the fridges for about K465,800 and transported them to the province.