CPL Group officially opened its newest City Pharmacy store at North Waigani, located inside the Thomand Plaza. The event marks another milestone in CPL’s Group commitment to expanding access to quality healthcare and pharmaceutical services for communities in PNG. CPL Head of Pharmacy Mr. Pradee Panda said this is the 36 pharmacy that the group has opened after the Namatanai City Pharmacy in New Ireland which is the 35 stores in the country that they will officially open soon. Mr. Panda said that City Pharmacy has been operating in the country for over four (4) decades now and CPL Group is a big diverse group who started with one branch, City Pharmacy, and today is the biggest retailer in the whole country. “When we talk about City Pharmacy, we are not just talking about buying and selling health care products, when we talk about City Pharmacy it is to give our people an overall healthcare solution and be a true community pharmacy for the people. There are multiple factors that make us a true community pharmacy and firstly through City Pharmacy we have opened CPL Wellness clinics with a total of 24 outstations across the country. Last year we saw 270,000 people across these clinics around the country and it is a good example of a public private partnership where we provide the healthcare at an affordable price and we are reducing the burden in the public healthcare system,” Mr. Panda said. CPL Board of Director Mary Handen said that when she was invited to officiate at the opening of the North-Waigani City Pharmacy, she sat and had a look at where the company has come so far. “Being a Papua New Guinean I am very proud as this is a community pharmacy that not only sell healthcare products, but we promote local small medium enterprises (SMEs), and we are filling in the gaps where health services are falling short in the country. We at CPL Group have seen that space and have realized how important health services are for our people and we are filling in these gaps,” she added.