Programme officers urged to work with govt

programmes that help to sustain communities must work closely in partnership with government bodies, instead of partnering with private and non-government organisations (NGOs), says a health official.
Director of curative health services in National Capital District health authority, Dr Michael Dokup, made this comment during a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) workshop in Port Moresby recently.
“Citizens of this country have to take ownership of critical programmes like Wash to participate actively and help each other to deliver the basic services of health and hygiene to less fortunate communities,” he said.
Dokup further urged Wash officials to set work plans and give a timeframe of what policies, changes or funding that is needed at certain communities for government officials to charge.
“The private sector partners and the NGOs will not be here to help the programme in how many years to come, the critical programme coordinators need to inform the Government so it is created as a structure with the Department of National Planning and Monitoring,” he said.
Dokup said by doing this, the programme would be recognised as a sector and Government would have funds allocated through district authorities.
Health Department programme manager Ray Kangu said to have a healthy population, the Government would have the Wash programme in place with funding to help in remote settings.