Heart charity raises K2.5m

By JUNIOR UKAHA
OPERATION Open Heart, the annual life-saving heart operation programme, was officially launched last Thursday at Motukea, Port Moresby, with K2.5 million raised.
The money came from donations and pledges from individuals, families, business houses and the governments of Papua New Guinea and Australia.
Prof Nakapi Tefuarani, one of the doctors in the programme, said 60 patients had been identified from 800 applicants throughout the country to undergo ope­rations.
“This is the 19th year since the programme started. A total of 764 adults and children have been operated on and are now living a normal life,” Tefuarani said.
He said the programme was successful as the mortality rate was just under 2%.
Tefuarani said the programme had provided the service for Papua New Guineans who could not afford treatment overseas and it transferred skills from Australian doctors to local counterparts.
“We now have two specialist heart doctors and a qualified anaesthetist.
“The programme would not be made possible without the generous support of the sponsors and the doctors who come from Australia,” he said.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill gave K200,000 on behalf of the government, saying the challenges of health were not easy and could not be solved overnight.
He said the government had seen that and had invested heavily in the health sector with the recent injection of K370 million.
He thanked the organisers of the programme, saying the government was ready to help in any way it could.
The operations will be held from Aug 2-9, with doctors from Australia arriving at the end of July.
The Australian government, through Aus­AID, gave K300,000 while sponsors Brian Bell (K20,000), Westpac (K20,000), ExxonMobil (K52,000) and others gave to the event. 
The launching saw a special on-stage performance by Australian music sensation Jessica Mauboy.