The lingering issue of establishing a standalone medical university has brought up by the Executive Dean of UPNG’s Medical Faculty Professor Nakapi Tefuarani.
“There is a need to produce more doctors, and as a way forward, the government must invest in medical school,”
His remarks were made during the opening of the Catheterization Laboratory in Port Moresby General Hospital.
The establishment of the Catheterization lab is an opportunity for undergraduate and post graduate students in the Medical Faculty to use the facility.
Currently only two universities in the country offer medical science courses; The Medical Faculty at the University of Papua New Guinea and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Divine Word University.
Since its establishment in 1973 the medical faculty has produced over 1200 doctors with an average of fifty doctors passing out from UPNG’s Medical Faculty.
Given these statistics, the Executive Dean emphasized on the need for a standalone medical university to increase the number of doctors in the country.
Professor Tefuarani’s call caught the attention of Prime Minister James Marape and Health Minister Elias Kapavore.
The government has already made a decision to declare the school of medicine a new university to be funded and managed separately, however last year, the University of Papua New Guinea had sought a court order halting the declaration.
When responding to Professor Tefuarani, Minister for Health Elias Kapavore said it’s about time decisions regarding the medical university is revisited.
By Patricia Keamo, EMTV News, Port Moresby
