Malalaua District Health Center has been boosted with the building of a new TB outpatient and screening facility as the initial step in providing quality TB service.
The building which is yet to be opened cost K10 thousand by the Medical Sans Frontier (MSF) Organisation working in partnership with the Gulf Provincial Health Divison as volunteers in controlling TB.
Mr. Akita Korua a trained TB officer says this building has made his work more efficient because he used to conduct outpatient clinics under the trees but during rainy days the clinics were disrupted.
He said the building has a special area outside where patients can provide sputum on the spot to be collected by the TB Officer to be tested at the laboratory.
“This is vital to separate TB patients from general outpatients because TB is an airborne disease which is able to spread.
Already MSF expatriate doctors are visiting the TB clinic every Friday to conduct consultation clinics for complicated TB cases and collect sputum samples.
Patients are coming all the way from the borders of Central Urulau and Okovai area in the Mekeo region.
Photo: The building standing next to the Malalaua Hospital General outpatient ward.