New Malaria Treatment Center Opens in Papua New Guinea
The not-for-profit group Rotary Against Malaria on Monday opened the Rotary Malaria Resource Center in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, the Papua New Guinea Post Courier reports. The center will provide no-cost services for people with malaria symptoms, including diagnostic blood tests and malaria treatment. Those who test negative for the disease will be referred to other health facilities, the Post Courier reports. Ron Seddon, chair of RAM, said the center will enable people to obtain malaria treatment within one hour. Seddon also encouraged employers to send staff members with malaria symptoms to the clinic.
According to Powes Parkop, adviser to the district governor on health reforms, and Timothy Pyakalyia, former executive at the Department of Health, the opening of the center will coincide with new malaria efforts in Papua New Guinea. According to the officials, the government plans to change the malaria treatment it supplies and procure new diagnostic technologies. Parkop added that the malaria clinic will align with the governor's plan to upgrade urban clinics to district hospital levels. Sam Kove, district health adviser, said he hopes the local government will set aside funding to help renovate one section of the clinic. According to local official Carol Kidu, the government has allocated 129,000 Papuan kina, or about $48,000, for the center.
Leo Makita, official with the health department's malaria program, said about 2.7 million people in Papua New Guinea visit health centers for malaria treatment annually (Papua New Guinea Post Courier, 2/24).
