Paiela villagers assist to bring health services to the area

 By ELIZABETH MIAE

PAIELA people in the Porgera district, Enga, are assisting in bringing health services to their area. 

Since the re-opening of the Paiela health centre late last year, the villagers with nursing officers have been transporting medical supplies by foot from Porgera station to Paiela. 

“To transport the medical supplies from Porgera is the hardest exercise but the people have been supportive for the last few months,” nursing officer in charge Pansa Haung said in a statement. 

He said locals supported him and two other nurses by carrying medical supplies without demanding money for their services. 

Huang said the people also cleaned up the health centre which he claimed had been abandoned for the last 10 years. 

“We need some money for the maintenance of the rundown health centre, nursing officers’ houses and other basic services,” he said.

Provincial health adviser Aaron Luai told The National from Wabag that they were only responsible for providing human resources and medical supplies to health facilities. 

District health officer for Porgera-Paiela Hewa, Jerry Maku, explained from Porgera that the health centre had not been neglected but tribal fights in the area after the elections had forced staff to leave. 

He said the facility including vital equipments were also vandalised during the tribal fights. 

Maku said there was no road link into the area to enable easy access of manpower to transport medical equipment and supplies.

However, he said the Porgera Development Authority planned to construct a road from Porgera to the area.