Poor turnout on AIDS day worries health officer

By Larry Andrew
A POOR turnout at the World AIDS Day in Finschhafen, Morobe, last week is a cause for concern, district health administrator Richter Posah says.
The day coincided with the districts first-ever health expo but Richter Posah said advance publicity and an open invitation to people and villagers living within walking distance from the township failed to attract people to the expo held at the Braun Memorial Hospital Oval.
Posah said in the 15 years he had been district health administrator, he had seen lifestyle diseases increasingly taking their toll on the people.
He said an increase in population in the district meant that the original ratio of a doctor to 500 people had been surpassed and was now one doctor to more than 2,000 people.
He said it put a great strain on health workers and resources.
Posah urged those who turned up at the oval to be responsible for their general health.
He emphasised the importance of family planning, saying, it was “a huge problem that is eating our society and creating social issues because there is no educational awareness in spacing children”.