New aid post for Hela community

THE people of Juni in the Komo-Margarima, Hela, now have a new community health post.
The ExxonMobil (PNG)-funded project was opened last month.
Healthcare in Hela is improving due to strong partnership between the provincial health authority (PHA) and donors.
The re-establishment of the community health post was part of ExxonMobil’s commitment to help improve health facilities in areas affected by earthquakes.
PHA chief executive Dr James Kintwa said plans to construct similar community health posts costing more than a million kina in Koroba, Kopiago and Margarima.
“Rural health services must be improved so that patients are treated in their communities while serious cases are referred to the provincial hospital,” he said.
“The provincial hospital will undergo major transformation and reconstruction as the National Government will be funding K300 million and that will be properly fitted out with medical equipment.”
ExxonMobil representative Kim Hahn said many health facilities in the province were damaged by the 2018 earthquakes and ExxonMobil stepped in to work in partnership with PHA to fund the community health post at Juni.
She said the aid post was a level-three facility under the national health standard and was equipped with antenatal and post-natal facilities, inpatient, emergency and dispensary rooms, counselling and testing of HIV and AIDS and others.