Basic health services in Matairuka village in Rigo, Central Province have not been forthcoming for over a year now according to Village Councilor Mr Gelema Gaba.
Mr Gaba said that the only health facility available in the village is an Aid Post which is wholly supported and funded by The Salvation Army.
He said that since the last Aid Post Medical Officer was dismissed in January 2021, the Aid Post which caters for over five thousand people has not been in operation for a year thus resulting in patients having to seek other alternatives in search of medical care and attention.
According to Mr Gaba, villagers have had to travel to the nearest health care centre which is located at Kwikila Town, a further 20 kilometers away from the village.
“We have not had another medical officer posted to our village since January 2021 and it is now becoming a struggle for the villagers as they now have to seek help elsewhere which at times is costly for them,” Mr Gaba said.
A patient from the village who did not wish to be named said that since the closure of the Aid Post, she has made a number of visits to Kwikila Town as well as to Port Moresby to buy medicine from the pharmacies and this has proved to be a costly exercise for her so far.
“Lately, I have had to make a few visits to Kwikila Town to look for medicine and to get there and back, I pay K8 in truck fares and then spend over K20 for medicine.”
“When I travel to Port Moresby instead, it’s quite costly because I now have to pay K30 in truck fares on top of the costs of medicine.”
“Previously when the Aid Post was operational, I only had to spend K5 at the least to receive medication,” she said.
With the new year already here, the villagers are hoping that the Aid Post can resume operations soon as they do not wish to go through another year without having a medical officer in the village.
The Village Councilor said that the possibility of having another Medical Officer sent to the village will depend largely on the arrangements made by officials from The Salvation Army Church in the village.
He hopes that arrangements can be put in place so that a Medical Officer can be sent to the village to enable the people to access health services in the comfort of their own village instead of having to travel far and spending more for basic health services.
Image sources: MS PIxels & Miichelle Abau Gabina