Consider the nation’s health

Editorial, Normal
Source:

The National, Thursday July 19th, 2012

PAPUA New Guinea has myriad challenges in just about every sector of its society.

From law and order, which includes an undermanned and under-resourced police force, to inadequate infrastructure in the absence of a network of roads linking the three regions that make up the mainland of the country, it is clear that we have a great many significant obstacles that are hindering our progress.

Health has been one area that has suffered due to a lack of funding and a proper national strategy to deal with the challenges of a population that is largely rural based but moving to urbanised settings in increasing numbers. The main problems with health care in PNG are that the service does not cater for the population, particularly in rural areas, mostly because the state has not increased its funding to match the needs of today, and there is a shortage of qualified medical personnel.

The factor relating to the lack of easily accessible and effective health care for Papua New Guineans is the prohibitive costs for both providers and recipients. In fact, the vast majority of the population must do without specialised medical treatment for various complaints because there is a distinct lack of professionals and facilities.

In terms of facilities, our major hospitals have lacked key diagnostic and other machinery used to treat the sick. In the urban areas of the country, the problem is more of cost and lifestyle while the rural majority must contend with a lack of basic medicines, staff and facilities. This trend must be changed or we will continue to have unnecessary deaths especially to the economically and socially productive members of our communities.

In developed countries such as the United States, health care is one issue that its citizens are deeply concerned about. In fact, it could cost Barack Obama a possible second term as president. Such is the demand for affordable, quality health care.

Compared to other nations in the Asia-Pacific region, we rate poorly according to the standard key indicators of life expectancy, infant mortality rates and the impact of non-communicable and communicable diseases.

According the United Nations Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific in 2011, PNG has the fourth lowest life expectancy with the males averaging 59 years and females at 64 years. Only Cambodia, Timor-Leste and Afghanistan rated worse than us.

Our Pacific Island neighbours fared much better with 66 years (male) and 72 years (female) for Fiji. Samoa and Tonga’s figures were even better with men averaging 69 years and women at 75.

We cannot discount that endemic diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis have been responsible for more deaths than others caused by various pathogen.

What is the Health Department doing about controlling these two killers?

Furthermore, the control of HIV/AIDS seems to have been the focus of health strategies over the last two decades.

But, more must be done for the other diseases that have ravaged the country for far longer periods.

With pockets of the country becoming rapidly modernised i.e. main cities, people are now starting to fall into the trap of a lifestyle that drastically reduces their chances of living longer, healthier lives.

The reality is many of the choices made by today’s city and town-dwelling Papua New Guineans impact directly on their health – and they seem oblivious this fact.

Health Minister Jamie Maxtone-Graham advocated healthy living and set the example with his own lifestyle. If anything, that attitude must be encouraged in our adult population and nurtured in our children. But that is only what we can do personally, a whole mountain of work remains for the government to do in addressing the state and capacity of our existing medical centres.

The state and provincial governments must make health a primary, and mandatory, concern in their budgets. Presently, attention to health related issues is more reactionary then proactive in nature.

This attitude must change as a healthy and vibrant population is needed to build the country to a level commensurate with its size and economic potential.