K200,000 for supply of medicines to Alotau

By ANTOINETTE POIVI
ALOTAU MP Ricky Morris presented a cheque of more than K200,000 to Pom Care Limited (Ltd) on Wednesday to supply medical drugs to sub health centres and aid posts in the Alotau district.
Morris said this was to address the drug shortage in the district.
“With the cheque, Pom Care Ltd will fund basic medical supplies including pain killers, malaria tablets, as well as other supplies like needles and gauzes for treating wounds,” he said.
Alotau district is made up of seven local level government areas, mostly on the mainland, with a provincial referral hospital and sub health centres and aid posts.
Morris, who is also the chairman of district development authority, said the provincial hospital served all referral cases throughout the province.
“The four sub health centres and 14 aid posts are often neglected during medical drug distribution partly because of the huge demand at the referral hospital,” he said.
“We are not going to sit back while our people are dying from preventable diseases, that’s why the district authority has taken this resolution rather than waiting for the relevant authorities.”
He said the people had been sent to buy their own medicines at the pharmacy and most could not afford it and that was why they had to intervene.
District administrator Wilson Hilary clarified that the cheque came under the health component of the district services improvement programme.
Hilary also said by next week, the drugs should be in the province and ready for distribution.
The district was expected to present its acquittals yesterday.