Prime Minister James Marape says one of his government’s priorities over the last five years has been health, resulting in the sector achieving some major milestones. Among these achievements is the development of new health infrastructure such as the rebuilding of Wewak’s Boram Hospital, a state-of-the-art facility funded by the Government at a cost of K200 million. The government also completed the new Enga Provincial Hospital in Wabag, Enga Province, as well as the Angau Memorial Hospital Redevelopment with the help of the Australian Government. The Prime Minister noted these achievements in a five-year anniversary report of his government’s accomplishments during last week’s Parliament session. Other new infrastructure includes the 41 health facilities supported by the Asian Development Bank, such as community health posts (CHPs), district hospitals, and health centres. These facilities include 10 new CHPs in places like Bulolo, Watut, Mumeng, Umba in Menyamya, Mutzing in Markham, West Taraka Poly Clinic, Tent City in Lae, Gaulim in East New Britain, and Bitakora in East New Britain. Two district hospitals have been built in Ambunti in East Sepik and Pomio in East New Britain, with Madang’s Bogia under construction and Bougainville’s Buin District Hospital set to commence soon, funded by a US$21.6 million grant from the Australian Government. Completed health centres include those in Gloucester in West New Britain, Agevairu in Central Province, and Koroba in Lake Kopiago, with construction set to begin at Maramuni in Enga. The Prime Minister also highlighted his government’s aim to establish tertiary health care services in the country, with the Cancer Centre at Port Moresby General Hospital scheduled to be completed and opened next year. Additionally, Angau Memorial Hospital has renovated its existing Cobalt 60 Source Centre facility and upgraded its security in anticipation of new cobalt radioactive isotopes arriving in 2024 “Investing in new health infrastructure has been a top priority for our government over the past five years." "Our goal is to ensure that every Papua New Guinean can access a health centre within an hour by any mode of transport, as outlined in the Medium-Term Development Plan IV (MTDP IV),” said Prime Minister Marape. The other major areas of concern in health that the Prime Minister says his government has prioritised include health workforce and medical supplies reform. Currently, there are only 18,929 health workers serving throughout the country, with a total of 13,135 vacancies that have persisted for several years. He says his government is addressing this serious health sector capacity issue with plans to recruit 7,130 health workers this year in different cadres of health work, including doctors, allied health workers, and nurses. The balance of 7,388 will be prioritised in the coming years. The medical supply procurement and distribution remain a huge challenge for the country, and the reforms being implemented as per the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee and Special Audits Report are already addressing some key issues, coordinated by a newly formed Steering Committee and Secretariat. Key milestone achievements so far include improvements at warehousing facilities and stock management at the central, provincial, and hospital levels. The rehabilitation of the four Regional Area Medical Stores was completed in 2022, with ongoing upgrades of Provincial Transit Medical Stores, with 12 fully rehabilitated and in operation. Prime Minister Marape also noted that the Inventory Management Software (mSupply) has been installed at all Area Medical Stores and is in progress to roll out to all public hospitals. This will provide data to inform procurement and pipeline management.