Primary Health Care in Papua New Guinea

The issue of whether the government should provide free health care in Papua New Guinea has been debated widely in our country recently. It is an important issue because health care has great impact on peoples’ lives in all walks of life. Health is a basis of good life and happiness. Without better health care life would be very difficult when it comes to deal with health related issues and emergencies especially in rural areas and those disadvantage ones in the urban centres. Health is for all meaning everyone must have access to better which is affordable at the lowest price and it should be for all the citizens regardless of their ethnicity, race, wealth, educational qualification or their social status in the communities. The health workers must collaborate with the local communities and other stake holders in order to efficiently deliver the much needed services to the people. This essay will discuss why primary health care is important and emphasize on some of issues that are affecting the distribution and delivery of health care in Papua New Guinea.
The government should subsidise free health care to help those people who can’t afford to pay for the increasing hospital bills. There is money to fund more medical supplies, employ specialist doctors and nurses in all clinical settings so that in the future people seeking health care will be served. It is asserted that most health workers were reluctant to go and serve in the rural settings because poor infrastructure and deteriorated health facilities. Namah argues that the government should look seriously into the health care system and review the health policies and strengthened it to be effective so that all the citizens may have access to better health care at their door step rather than travelling into towns and cities during emergencies. It has been argued that the government were negligent to import medical equipment’s which will be used to diagnose and treat diseases in the country. Namah (2013,