Official wants Govt to focus on preventive medicine

The National National

A HEALTH official in Morobe says the Government must put more emphasis on preventive medicine in the country.
Morobe health authority chief executive officer Dr Kipas Binga said donor partners had always carried the health burden of Papua New Guinea.
He referred to World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics which showed routine immunisation across the country at 50 per cent and less.
Dr Binga explained that in health there was curative medicine which dealt with an individual’s health and preventive medicine which dealt with population health.
“Immunisation is preventive medicine,” he explained.
“If the Government is serious, it needs to invest in this area. Our cold chain system must be effective and working, health posts in districts must have solar to keep the vaccines at the right temperature to work.
“Yet we are struggling at 50 per cent and less; it’s a big challenge,” Dr Binga said in referrence to the recently-launched supplementary immunisation activity by WHO in the country.
“The cost is carried by our donor partners; the Government must realise this and start doing more because these are your people.”

2 comments

  • At last we have a health official who is seeing the BIG picture with regards to our health issues and likely solutions.
    There is no point talking about expensive cancer treatments when people still indulge habits which are certain risk factors for our common cancers such mouth, throat, stomach, pancreas, lung and cervix.
    These are SMOKING, ALCOHOL and MUTLIPLE SEXUAL PARTNERS (HPV ).

  • We said Dr Binga.

    Prevention is better than cure. Thus, based on Dr Kindin’s valid statement above, each individual adult is entirely responsible for his or her own health.

    If we ignorantly disregard simple health rules
    and live careless, unhygienic lives and indulge in unhealthy practices, we will pay the ultimate price with our own lives.

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