Former PNG PM O'Neill calls on Marape Government to fund hospitals, boost health system

 The Marape Government has been called to address the health issues the country is facing now. The government must step in to fund the hospitals or the entire health system will collapse, this is the warning from Ialibu Pangia MP, Peter O’Neill.

He said the surge in the COVID-19 cases was starting to stress the health system across the country.

Mr O’Neill encouraged Papua New Guineans to get vaccination and live with the new normal measures to help release pressure on hospitals.

“This is not about politics, this is not about who is right and who is wrong, it is about the lives of our people and people are dying every day,”he said.

He said Covid-19 stressing and burdening the hospitals that were already not functioning well.

Mr O’Neill said the situation was now out of control where people were left to their own mercy and when relatives were sick they also expose other relatives and family members and community resulting in large numbers of people going seeking help from the hospitals.

“Unlike in the past 40 years or so, we have managed despite the shortage of funds, capacity and medicine, we were able to pull through because of the government’s ability to step in at the right time.

But unfortunately over the last two years, that has not been the case,” he said.

“We let the hospitals run at their own demise with shortage of funds.

“I give you a case as an example with Port Moresby General Hospital, I think they are getting about K3 million every month. Nobody can operate a hospital with such an allocation. Just paying salaries for doctors and nurses and health worker is not the only aspect of providing better health care for our people.”

He said infrastructure, equipment, training and medicine were equally important and must be addressed.

“I hope our authorities know that this is a serious matter, we hope that they take it seriously and attend to it,” Mr O’Neill said.

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