Health issues force school in Finschhafen to close

By EREBIRI ZURENUOC
DREGERHAFEN Secondary School in Finschhafen, Morobe, has been closed for an indefinite period with more than 1000 students to miss out on classes starting today.
This was because of serious existing health issues including defective sanitary facilities, inadequate and unreliable water supply system, rundown and unhygienic mess facility, defective building structures and overcrowding.
The closure notice, signed on Friday by provincial programme adviser for health, Micah Yawing, was in respect to an environmental health report conducted at the school by district health services in November.
A previous similar report was done on March 30, 2017.
School board chairman Bussim Stoessel told The National in January that a stakeholders’ meeting resolved that the school had not reached the required 80 per cent of the recommendations set under the health inspection report of 2018.
“Funding is an issue and the school needs K400,000 for full upgrade of its rundown facilities and other infrastructure,” he said.
Provincial environmental health officer Zambuna Gina told The National on Friday that complaints by parents, citizens and students led to the closure.
“The school has no access to proper water supply because of the dry spell in Finschhafen,” he said.
“We have received clinical reports from health facilities, especially the Dregerhafen aid post and Gagidu urban clinic, regarding a high number of students confirmed to have diarrhoea, dysentery and stomach ache.
“The school infrastructure is unfit for human habitation.
The rundown facility is contributing to the current health issues faced by the students.
“The health division needs to do something before there is an outbreak.
If we allow the school to be open, this might lead to deaths if there is an outbreak.”
Yawing said sanitation and water supply, including proper food preparation, was important.
“The school needs a proper water supply system in place and proper sanitation, because the diseases reported from the health facilities are all waterborne,” he said.
“If proper water supply system and sanitation are not in place, the school needs to be closed.”