WHO to support TB fight in Huon

By PISAI GUMAR
THE World Health Organisation will support Huon Gulf district improve its tuberculosis (TB) laboratory equipment and provide required staff training.
WHO country director Dr William Adu Krow told Good Samaritan Medical Clinic director Dr Laki Hiss that WHO would help improve facilities and train laboratory specialists if need be.
Adu Krow officially cut the ribbon to open a new TB laboratory that had only one microscope, few sputum test kits with a freezer at the Wampar station yesterday.
Hiss was engaged by the district administration to set up the TB laboratory.
This prompted local MP and Health Minister Sasa Zibe to allocate another K450,000 to Hiss to further improve the laboratory status.
Meanwhile, Adu Krow said the TB prevention and curative measures cycle needed to be broken.
“Let’s break the cycle and reach out into the districts, LLGs and the communities and households to ensure TB is eradicated there,” he said.
However, medical stock-out systems must also be prepared for the provision and procurement of drugs to ensure patients’ results and medications were provided efficiently, Adu Krow said.
“Be prepared, get the stocks up to date and not let patients come and wait.
“The longer patients wait, the bacilli (TB bacteria) becomes effective and resistant to drugs,” he said. 
And implementation of TB’s directly observe treatment strategy (DOTS) and awareness needed all government departments and agencies, non-governmental organisations, churches and the community to work together, he said.
World Vision Pacific development group operations director Samaresh Nayak said that globally, people die of TB every 20 seconds.
He added that having the laboratory did not mean that the fight against TB ended but that had to go to homes.
“We must fight together. Until and when no one dies from TB, can we proclaim that Papua New Guinea is free from TB.”