OOH to get K2m a year
The National, Monday 22nd April 2013
By ADRIAN MATHIAS
PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has announced the government’s intention of making Operation Open Heart a national programme with K2 million funding to be allocated every year.
O’Neill said this during the launch of the programme at Club Motukea outside Port Moresby last Thursday night.
He said that Operation Open Heart would start with the country’s biggest hospital, Port Moresby General Hospital and move to Lae’s Angau Memorial Hospital and eventually to other major hospitals.
But O’Neill said it would not happen overnight.
“We will do it together and we intend to make this a national program with K2 million funding every year,” he said.
The prime minister said his government was committed to maintaining services in the country and would assist such programmes and initiatives that strived to improve the lives of people.
O’Neill thanked the staff of the Port Moresby General Hospital and overseas volunteers for supporting and assisting the programme.
He committed K250,000 on behalf of the National Gaming Control Board for doctors and nurses to carry out the programme this year.
Health Minister Michael Malabag told doctors and nurses who attended the event that they were the country’s backbone of the Operation Open Heart and other health programmes.
He said with a lot of businesses in Port Moresby and PNG they could do more in improving health and education of people in the country.