CHW Students Graduate in Remote Teleformin
West Sepik MP and Minister for Defense, Solan Misiram.
The remote Telefomin district in the West Sepik Province witnessed the graduation of 35 students as community health workers.
The successful completion of the two-year program was made possible through the intervention of the local MP and Minister for Defence Solan Mirisim who funded and revived the school that was closed for more than 15 years.
The Telefomin community health workers training school was first established in 1969 by a Baptist Union missionary Betty Crutch but was closed due to financial misuse and maladministration.
Last Friday the school passed out 35 students from throughout Telefomin, West Sepik, Western, Hela, Southern Highlands, Western Highlands, Enga, Jiwaka and other parts of the country who will work as CHW in remote communities .
During the graduation health secretary Pascoe Kase told them that there is a huge work force need or vacancy in the health establishments in the country and they were are lucky group of students to fill in the vacancy.
He said the country need a total work of workfroce of 36000 but has only 18000 and that include doctors, nurses and community health workers.
‘There is a huge workforce shortage in the health sector and I must assure you that there is a lot of vacancy and it is now up to the provincial health authorities to create the position and fund them to fill the vacancies,” he said.
He said many of the remote communities need services and as young health professionals they need to go to those remote communities and serve the people who deserve their services.
Mr Kase said there is a lot of challenges among the health professionals in respect to moral and ethics and it was appropriate for young people with the right principles and moral ethics delivered by the church-run training institutions will address the principles of good work and moral delay in the health sector to serve the people well.
The graduation was also witnessed by the Minister for Higher Education Research Science and Technology Pila Niningi, Defence MP Solan Mirisim, West Sepik Governor Tony Wouwou, West Sepik provincial health authority chairman Jerald Gubon and Baptist Union of PNG health manager Joseph Lakai.
The Baptist Union health services and the West Sepik provincial health authority also became the first in the country to sign an agreement to share the responsibility of running health services in the country with some function to be passed on to the PDA to manage.
The functions of the Telefomin district hospital including salaries will not be transferred to the PHA to manage.
- CHW Students Graduate in Remote Teleformin - July 30, 2018
