Mission Aviation Fellowship Technologies is reintroducing High Frequency radios to isolated and remote health posts for ease of communication in service delivery.
Deputy workshop manager Julian Wolf and MAF Technician Steven Zota, are part of a team bringing radio communication to the Wasengla Health post in the West Sepik Province, to enable contact with other health service providers and government establishments.
The Deputy Director for the Public Health Service in Vanimo, Symphorian Sumun, described the challenge of working in such isolation.
“It is just so difficult for immediate patient care support like emergencies or dissemination of health messaging and information for our health workers especially in remote areas where mobile coverage or road accessibility is non-existent,” Sumun said.
The installation of the HF radio and maintenance work in the community health post means it can connect with other communities and heath care workers.
Wolf who hails from Germany and has skills in electrical engineering said communication between health care workers is now existent unlike before.
“Seeing that radio is the only reliable means of communication for these areas made me appreciate what MAF Technologies does. What we do enables the remote community health workers to reach out to the District Hospital without having to wait for good network or having to hike up the next mountain just to save a life,” Wolf reiterated.
According to Sumun the health posts had suffered from instances of vandalism and theft occurring regularly.
“We still go ahead to purchase new batteries or panels to replace those stolen or vandalized just to ensure there is communication between our rural health workers and those from the district or provincial head offices,” he said.
Sumun plans to continue to restore radio communications to all their health facilities in the West Sepik Province and prioritize health posts in remote areas.
He is happy with the service that MAF Technologies provides to ensure that their radios for health workers are functional, and looks forward to continuing the work with MAF Technologies.