People from rural Madang are still suffering from lack of basic health services.
Provincial Health Director Marcus Kachau says he has not seen any improvements in the priority health programs in the province.
Kachau says the Madang Health Office has three minimum priority areas: making sure that facilities were operational, equipping health centres with the right medical supplies and staff, and constantly supervise rural health centres.
He admits it was difficult to address one of the main problems which were the supervision of rural health centres due to transport, communication and law and order problems and if all the three minimum health priorities were met, health services can be extended to people living in the rural areas too.
The priority programs include increasing immunisation coverage, reducing maternal deaths by placing more village-based attendants in rural areas, reaching out to TB patients, increasing HIV testing to all health centres and provide anti-viral treatment by well trained staff.
Kachau also said this department was planning to follow NCD’s action and control the chewing of betelnut for the sake of people’s health, more so with the meeting up of the millennium term goal.
He said his department plans to improve health service delivery in rural Madang this year.