Maxtone-Graham to push govt for sanitation funds

HEALTH Minister Jamie Maxtone-Graham says he will push the government for funds to develop water, sanitation and health services in the country.
Speaking at the closing of the water, sanitation and hygiene conference in Port Moresby, Maxtone-Graham said his goal was to promote the health of Papua New Guineans and the conference had helped him achieve that.
 His statement came in response to the concerns raised by the European Union Rural Water and Sanitation Programme and other non-state agencies on the future of water, sanitation and hygiene development in the country after the EU stops funding in 2012.
He said he was prepared to support stakeholders in developing a national water policy.
“I don’t want to build expensive hospitals, or train more doctors. These are long term goals. I want to concentrate on community mobilisation on how we can educate our people to be preventative so that we can help reduce government spending,” he said.
Maxtone-Graham thanked the EU for providing K75 million through the programme.