Marie Stopes opens men’s clinic

MARIE Stopes PNG officially launched the Ol man clinic yesterday as part of its initiative to  provide sexual reproductive health services and information for men living in the nation’s capital.
Studies have shown that Papua New Guinean men prefer to seek medical advice from “male” service providers rather than females.
Males also prefer to visit medical centres and tend to openly express their concerns when the opposite sex is not present.
In response to that, Marie Stopes came up with the Ol man clinic, a unique initiative directed on improving and increasing access to accurate information and preventative services related to sexual reproductive health for men.
The clinic will run every Wednesday from 1-4pm at the Marie Stopes centre at Reke Street, Boroko and will start on Oct 13.
Services on offer include general consultation with a male nurse or male doctor, STI (sexually transmitted infection) screening, testing and treatment, VCT (voluntary counselling and testing), family planning counselling and male methods, testicular check and tests like blood sugar.
The Ol man clinic will also host discussions on topics of interest to men, such as the risks and consequences of having multiple and concurrent partners, infertility, improved and
safe sex life.
As of yesterday until next February, a special registration fee of K3 would be charged for services.
The normal price of K35 will apply after the promotional period.
More information can be obtained by calling the centre on 3255314 or clients can give a miss call to mobile number 72005314 and staff will return the call to attend to queries.
Marie Stopes country director, Jet Riparip, said they had been talking about the project for six months and decided to have it at the centre.
She said it was very difficult to get men to talk about their health problems and they hope this would be an opportunity for them to come forward for help.