Foundation gets K50,000 to deliver medical items

 By MELTON PAIS

THE PNG Tribal Foundation received a cheque for K50,000 from the Lae Joint District Planning and Budget Priorities Committee for the supply and delivery of medical equipment to various health facilities in the district. 

Minister for Youth, Religion and Community Development and MP for Lae Loujaya Kouza presented the cheque to the foundation’s operations director Michelle Hau’ofa in Port Moresby on Monday. 

The first cheque of K50,000 from District Services Improvement Programme (DSIP) was released to the foundation last year. 

Hau’ofa said the fund would enable the foundation, in partnership with Project CURE, to supply a 40-foot container of medical equipment based on a comprehensive needs assessment.

“PNG Tribal Foundation is delighted to work with the Lae district authorities to improve health service delivery to its people,” she said.

“We like to work with proactive leaders, as follow-through is critical to our success in impacting service delivery, and Kouza is one such leader.” 

Hau’ofa said her staff conducted comprehensive assessments of health facilities and their US-based partner Project CURE helped determine what was needed at operational level. 

Hau’ofa said the health authorities on the ground were in control and determined exactly what was sent, which ensured the supplies were appropriate and necessary

Kouza said the grant marked the beginning of a partnership between Lae district and the PNG Tribal Foundation which was approved in principle in April last year.

Kouza said this partnership would see the foundation receiving an annual grant of K100,000 to supply and deliver medical equipment to various health facilities in the district over the next three years.