A community health worker (CHW) In the Ungai- Bena district has confirmed facing problems with medicine shortage.
CHW at the Siokei aid post, Johnson Ravana said they have been running short of anti- malarial drugs, and it takes months before new stock arrives.
Mr. Ravana has been manning the Siokei Aidpost in the Ungai Bena district, for over twenty years. He says over thousand people use the aid post, where he serves as the only health worker.
When there is medicine, he treats patients. He refers patients to larger health centers and hospitals when he does not have medical drugs in stock.
Mr. Ravana receives two to three boxes of arthmether drugs at one time, containing fifty packets each. Because of the population, these drugs often run out.
The Siokei aid post was built for the Primary school however it also serves Lower Bena LLG’s wards 1 and 2 and is not the only aid post experiencing shortages. Several health centers in Lae and in other parts of Morobe have also been facing similar problems.
Mr. Ravana expressed his frustration saying he has to have enough supplies to cater for the population, further adding that the deaths experienced in the community due to a shortage of medicine, also affects him personally.
“When I don’t have the medicine and my patients or people in my ward die, I feel very bad. I am a human being too. I’m living in this community and I must serve them. If I have medicine and I serve them, they wouldn’t die.”
By Lucy Kopana, EMTV News, Lae
