Madang prioritises health in rural areas

THE Madang provincial health authority (PHA) priorities this year will be the re-development of both rural, urban hospital facilities and staff recruitment, says chief executive officer Fidelis Waipma.
Waipma said while the administrative and service delivery hurdles continued to hamper effective healthcare services, PHA continues to strive to be an agent for change in Madang.
“When I took office in July 2022, one of the first things I faced was the administrative challenge of the old Modilon Hospital and Madang provincial health office operating as separate entities which was there for me to manage,” he said.
Waipma said it was difficult to fix the administrative challenges faced by the organisation and concentrate on service delivery.
He said in 2023 emphasis would be given to the public health team to provide services to the rural communities.
He added that they would continue to strengthen working relationships with the six district Members of Parliament and the governor to continue to address rural health issues.
Waipma said some of last year’s achievements included installation of two 100KVA generators for Gaubin and Yagaum rural hospitals, and funding support for Lutheran, Catholic and Evangelical Bible Church health survives.
Waipma said investments were also made in sea ambulances, two vehicles for rural outreach and medical distribution, an antistatic machine worth half a million Kina and dental chairs.