State puts emphasis on health

 PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has assured doctors, nurses and hospital administrators that his government will keep health as the number one priority throughout its term. 

Public Service Minister Sir Puka Temu made the remarks on behalf of O’Neill during the opening of the 50th Medical Symposium in Goroka on Sunday night.

The government has many responsibilities but the health of the nation, in particular its workforce, is crucial to fulfilling its development goals and ensuring prosperous future.

Education (schools and universities), policing (law and order), infrastructural development (roads, bridges and wharves), sports and recreation are important to a nation but without a healthy vibrant population the other areas become secondary considerations.

Sir Puka, who served as the secretary for health before becoming a politician, said the government was committed to see through its National Health Plan 2011-2020 but admitted that with other budget priorities health invariably had to make do with less then what it needed.

“When we designed and structured the National Health Plan over 10 years ago, we had to go to the treasurer, finance minister and finance and treasury to beg them for the actual amount needed for hospitals, medical supplies and immunisation, to fully maintain aid posts and to train village health workers, however they would always cut the funding to the bare minimum,” Sir Puka said.

Imagine that, even though the national executive council made health a priority, they still had to ask the finance department to give enough money for their health plan.

According to the World Health Organisation, Papua New Guinea, despite its size and burgeoning economy, still ranks poorly in health indicators in the Pacific region.WHO states that health indicators are poor, with average life expectancy at 53 years, infant mortality rate at 49 per 1000 live births, and maternal mortality rate at an astounding 733 per 100,000 live births; a figure regarded by some as an underestimate.

After over 30 years of political independence and some early economic and social progress, most of the people remain poor by regional and international standards. The poor health status is associated with poverty, but it is widely recognised that a failure of health service delivery is a major contributor to ill-health.

 The national health plan, a 10-year programme, is the O’Neill government’s biggest undertaking. The overall aim is the general improvement of health services for the people. That means better facilities and equipment, the training of more medical professionals to handle an increasing population and the reliable supply of certified medicines.

Sir Puka said for the first time in 39 years the Government was now putting funding for hospital upgrades, medical equipment installation and replacement and the construction of medical stores in each province.

In fact, health and education seem to be the two biggest items on the agenda for the state when it comes to swaying public opinion.

The government’s plans for free education and health care are great support-inducing policies but the people must appreciate that there is no completely free government service, especially one that needs to be provided at a good standard. And as the wheels of the public service machinery have shown in the past, saying it and doing it are two different things.

The challenge now is for the state to implement its plan over the time-frame and have the empirical evidence to prove that they have made a measurable improvement the health system. 

In short the government should be looking to change the low ratings that this country has become associated with globally.

“The government is not only looking at development but it is concerned about the health and well-being of the common people. Therefore, it has approved the policy of healthcare and has subsidised specialist services, increased funding of medical supplies and making more funds available through the health functional grants, hospital grants, provincial health grants and church health grants.” 

In the end, all these health initiatives must bear the fruit that is intended and the national health plan, if implemented fully, should have a positive effect on the people and the prospects of the nation.