Practical effort needed for ideas

 MALARIA is the focus of the 49th Papua New Guinea Medical Symposium which got underway in Lae on Monday.

While the medical profession is holding serious discussions on research findings that will determine future health policies and guidelines on the killer disease, we wonder whether basic health services will ever reach the most remote areas of PNG.

We do agree with Prof Peter Siba of the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) that research is vital for the long term prevention and control of diseases such as malaria, which is among the five most prevalent diseases in this country.

But we couldn’t agree more with Morobe Governor Kelly Naru that the lack of efficiency in the delivery of medical drugs and supplies to village clinics and rural health centres is the most difficult public health task.

Siba and Naru were among the guest speakers at the opening of the five-day symposium, attended by medical doctors, researchers and health professionals from PNG and abroad.

The IMR director was upbeat about the Government’s commitment to support research-based projects and research-oriented forums such as the symposium.

“I’m pretty happy that the Government has come to realise the importance of medical research. 

“Funding has been a major concern and now with the assurance, it has given me the confidence and boosted the IMR to address issues,” Siba said when commending Deputy Prime Minister Leo Dion for announcing the Government’s support for medical research in his opening address.

Naru, who is the patron of the symposium, also urged the Government to ensure medical research was adequately funded every year on health issues and diseases prevalent in this country.

The outspoken governor bemused the medical fraternity with a rather complimentary remark about beer – the popular alcoholic beverage that is generally considered harmful to human health.

Naru, in pointing out the sorry state of the country’s public health delivery system, hailed the beer maker, SP Brewery, for its efficiency in delivering its products, especially the SP Brown beer, to the most remote parts of the country.

“If a brown beer bottle can find its way into the most remote part of PNG, why can’t we deliver malaria tablets into these same parts of PNG, using the similar level of energy to save lives of children, mothers and others in the same efficient way as SP brown beer bottle is delivered in the first instance?” he asked. 

“Not only that but why can’t we also deliver the rest of the medical drugs and supplies into our most remote clinics and health centres using the same method of delivery to save lives?”

Are these questions asked by Naru also being asked by the Health Department and relevant government authorities in Port Moresby?

It doesn’t seem so because we are still getting reports that the government service delivery mechanism, especially in healthcare, is as slow as the turtle it was 38 years ago.

On the eve of our 38th independence anniversary, what has this nation actually achieved insofar as providing basic healthcare services to the majority of its citizens who live in the rural areas?

In actual fact, there’s little that our political leaders and top bureaucrats can brag about, except to boast about intricate master plans such as Vision 2050, Medium Term Development Goals and the Alotau Accord.

No doubt, the O’Neill Government will long be remembered for its free education policy and soon-to-be free healthcare policy but these wonderful initiatives will not benefit our citizens if they are not efficiently implemented and effectively delivered. 

Otherwise, these are mere roadmaps that lead to nowhere. Must we also remind the Government’s key administrators, planners and strategists that the “year of implementation” is fast running out!