Doctors challenged to find ways to reduce infant deaths

HEALTH and HIV-AIDS Minister Sir Puka Temu has challenged doctors attending a medical symposium in Madang to come up with a plan to reduce the high infant mortality rate in the country.
He told doctors and medical researchers that they must design a strategy to reduce the much-talked about high mortality rate in the country.
“Let’s stop talking about it. Let’s see (it reduced),” Sir Puka said.
He urged the PNG Medical Society to upscale in disseminating information from the symposium to provide decision-making agencies with the right information and decision to improve primary health-care.
Sir Puka invited inputs from medical experts to improve rural health and primary health care.
He said PNG had a very high number of sexually transmitted diseases. And 37.5 per cent of the people still live in poverty.
Sir Puka said he would be expecting excellent outcomes from the symposium to improve primary health-care in rural health services.
He also launched a book compiled by Dr Rebecca Williams on the experiences of doctors working in rural health facilities.