Claims of TB deaths in EHP

National, Normal
Source:

The National – Wednesday, June 22, 2011

EIGHT people have reportedly died from tuberculosis in remote parts of Henganofi in Eastern Highlands, a community leader says.
Paul Binefa, from the Dunantina area, said eight people had died from TB in Yanofi and Kiviringka villages.
He said they needed proper health services in the Dunantina area, where aid posts lacked medicine and equipment.
He said 7,000 to 8,000 people lived in the area and needed immediate health services because the next health centre at Kesavaka was 20km away while the Henganofi health centre was 40km away.
“They face great hardship because of the bad road conditions and not having regular  transport system to take them quickly to the health centres or the Goroka Base Hospital,” he said.
Binefa appealed to the government and the Health Department to intervene and help them.
He said the nearby Mirina aid post needed to have a full-time health worker and “supplies must come to them all the time”.
“Doing that will help the people in the communities to have easy treatment from the nearby aid post,” he said.
He appealed to the people of Dunantina to take precaution as there were no signs of government health services for them.