Six community health workers receive practising licences

By LULU MARK
Four community health workers (CHW) received their practicing licences from the Papua New Guinea Medical Board on Friday.
The four, with two others who graduated from the Asia-Pacific Institute of Applied Social, Economic and Technical Studies (Apiasets) in 2017, received their licences at the institute in Port Moresby.
Lynette Ette said without the licences they would not be able to get jobs.
“It is assuring to know that we are recognised medical professionals in Papua New Guinea,” she said.
“I believe the six of us can get a permanent job in hospitals and serve the people to the best of our abilities.
“Seven of us graduated in 2017 (five females and two males) but we lost one of our friends, who passed on not long after graduation.
“Two of us were assisting health organisations within the city –Bradley Zuki with St John Ambulance and Homate Huwa with Medicines Sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders).
“This is a milestone achievement for us because we believe we were given a second chance by Apiasets.
“After grade 12, when we realised we were not selected to the institutions we applied to, we came here.”
Apiasets executive director Thomas Phillar said the students were pioneers of the health science programme.
He said they enrolled in 2015 and had grown with the institution.
“This is the first CHW private training college in PNG to be registered,” Phillar said.
“We have been mandated by the medical board and licensed to run the certificate in CHW programme.
“This ceremony attests to that.
“This licence will enable the graduates to perform their role equally as any other community health worker in the country.”