Jica signs deal to train village health volunteers

THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Enga government to fund a four-year project to train village health volunteers.
The project began on Aug 13. Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas thanked Japan’s health and development service for working with the provincial health authority in the past four years to plan the project.
Sir Peter said looking after the health of people in the communities was more important than building a provincial hospital because that was where diseases started.
The project is on “making healthy village for mothers and women in the highlands region of PNG”. It will be implemented in Laiagam district.
The project also aims to train local leaders on how to identify underlying causes of sickness and find ways to address them.
The project will also assist the provincial health authority in providing medical services to people who live far away and hard to access health facilities especially women.