Leader urges district to upgrade health centre

A COMMUNITY leader in Northern has called on the Sohe District Development Authority to upgrade the Ioma health centre to a district hospital.
Murray Gewa from Ioma, in response to media reports of the Log Export Development Levy being budgeted, said the health centre was well overdue for upgrading. While commending the Government and the PNG Forest Authority’s decision to give the levy to the district development authority, Gewa said priority must be given to the health centre and the airstrip.
He said the funding should cover the local level government council wards 14 to 17 in the logging area.
Sohe MP Delilah Gore said there were plans to have the health centre reopened by the end of this year.
She said the Sohe district authority had budgeted K200,000 for the Ioma health centre.
Gore said the health centre was closed and the DDA had focused the budget on quick interventions to reopen it and to restore other facilities that were run down.
Gore said the Ioma airstrip was closed due to the lack of maintenance. So getting it re-opened was a priority.
She said the district had plans to look at these issues shortly.