High hopes set for new secretary

THE former Health secretary Pascoe Kase is leaving the department’s top post, a position he held for 8 years.
Many things had happened under his leadership: some good, some bad.
Lately, the latter got prime coverage in the media, an unfair cover-up of all his better achievements.
I encourage us all for fairness of opinions on his tenure. The department, undoubtedly a huge one is known for writing up more policy statements that become shelf material than weaponry against disease and related matters affecting us.
This department is at its crossroad right now and a successor (Dr Paison Dakulala acting secretary) has to decide between staying the same course or taking the department to new heights.
The challenge of the candidate to the position is between improving its newly acquired imagery of alleged corruptness and the maximisation of service delivery, in particular a non-interruptive and a constant flow of optimal patient care at every health institution countrywide.
Population growth, increased cost of living and mobility are factors inherent in health planning.
Furthermore, efficiency and effectiveness are essential elements of consideration in the input-process-output planning model.
Critics against current annual budgetary allocations have to provide a sufficient and convincing case relative to the outputs so far.
And, oh yes, the nation has cried out for better services lately.
Given our grossly unfair health-worker to population ratios, what are our strategies?
The question whether to increase or reduce the current cadre of clinicians become relevant when issues of confusion or overlapping of clinical responsibilities have negative effects on optimal patient care.
And yes, the pioneers in the other MBBS programme are about to pass out adding to our current list of clinicians with the question of the programmes accreditation status perhaps unsolved yet.
Antimicrobial resistance issues driven by rampant and uncontrolled sales and usage of our standard antibiotics and other drugs have not been dealt with adequately in our health plans nor health activities.
Alternate health care systems such as the herbs-men, witch-doctors and glassmen compound the drug resistance issue and our health policies have not captured the mechanisms to curtail such pluralism in our system.
Drug resistance is the next major health issue in the coming decade and its foundations are being laid before our eyes. Radical policy directions to our common enemies such as TB, HIV etc should be put on the discussion table.
Remember, if we expect a different result by staying the same course, we have to be insane!
In saying “thank you” and “best wishes” for the future to my friend Kase, I challenge the aspirants to the vacancy with my aforementioned thoughts.

Mexxy Kakazo,
Goroka