Huon Gulf not pulling their weight in combating cholera

THE Morobe cholera task force has expressed disappointment at Lae and Huon Gulf district health officials for not taking an active role in addressing cholera.
The task force members said these districts were continuously experiencing cases of cholera and health officials should take the responsibility of conducting awareness and address water and sanitation issues.
They said these districts were situated within the heart of the city and tended to rely on the provincial health office.
They said the health office was only in charge of coordination and it was the districts responsibility to address the other issues. 
Staff members at the treatment centre said if the districts take the responsibility of addressing cholera in their own areas, then this would minimise some of the workload that the centre is currently engaged in.
Doctor in charge of the centre Dan Aisi said the staff at the centre travel out to residential areas of the patients to decontaminate these areas.
He said this should not be happening as staff at the treatment centre are only required to treat patients who are admitted.
Acting chairman at the meeting Micah Yawing said he would be calling up a meeting with district officials to discuss the responsibilities of each district toward addressing cholera.  
Mr Yawing said that distributing of responsibilities among the districts would be effective and produce better results.
A workshop will also be conducted for health officers of all districts in Morobe.
This workshop will focus on capacity building and skills ranging from case management, awareness, water and sanitation.
The workshop will improve the skills and knowledge of assisting health workers to equip them to address any further outbreaks in their districts.
The accumulative total number of cases from the  treatment centre in Angau is now 336, Dr Aisi said.
He said the centre sees one or two patients who have cholera each day.