Cuban doctors sought

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill is expected to travel to Cuba in November to hire doctors to serve in Papua New Guinea.
Reaffirming the importance of working with international partners to enhance healthcare delivery in PNG, he last week met representatives of the World Health Organisation and health officials from China.
“Disease and illness do not observe borders. And we in Papua New Guinea must have an open policy to bring in expertise and skills where we can find them around the world,” O’Neill said.
“Expanding universal healthcare is a core policy of our Government. And we are working to increase the number of healthcare professionals that serve our people.
“We have increased the number of young doctors and nurses coming through our system, and we are talking with our partners overseas.
“We will continue discussion with Cuba on the prospect of bringing doctors to work in our districts.”
Representatives from China’s health department shared their experience with O’Neill on how they dealt with malaria in Africa.
He briefed Dr Shin Young-soo, the World Health Organisation’s regional director for the Western Pacific, on healthcare policy developments in PNG and the desire to further engage with the WHO.
“The programmes delivered by the World Health Organisation have made a real difference in our country,” he said.