Having conducted environmental and social baseline and impact assessment studies for resource projects in some of the most remote parts of Papua New Guinea our team at ERIAS Group are well aware of the logistical challenges of providing health care and other basic services to the remote village communities. So when the opportunity arose for ERIAS Group to provide support to the Kapuna Health Centre in Gulf Province, we were only too pleased to be able to assist and make a real difference to the lives of the communities who have hosted our teams during our field work.
Having conducted environmental and social baseline and impact assessment studies for resource projects in some of the most remote parts of Papua New Guinea our team at ERIAS Group are well aware of the logistical challenges of providing health care and other basic services to the remote village communities. So when the opportunity arose for ERIAS Group to provide support to the Kapuna Health Centre in Gulf Province, we were only too pleased to be able to assist and make a real difference to the lives of the communities who have hosted our teams during our field work.
In February this year representatives from ERIAS Group, with logistical support from our client, Total E&P PNG Limited, arrived at Kapuna Health Centre in Gulf Province with a donation of a GeneXpert IV machine to provide rapid diagnosis of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). This donation came at a critical time, with early cases of MDR-TB being detected in the Kapuna area in late 2017. Accurate and early diagnosis is essential to ensure patients receive the correct treatment and minimising the spread of MDR-TB through the community. Previously samples were required to be sent by boat from Kapuna to Kikori with results taking several weeks to return, and so infected patients would remain undiagnosed for some time increasing the risk of the disease spreading through the community.
Dr Valerie Archer and her staff at the Kapuna Health Centre are dedicated to delivering critical aid to the region, which includes mobile health patrols that provide essential health services to remote aid posts and communities including immunisations, water and sanitation training and more recently a tuberculosis awareness and prevention program. Having on-site MDR-TB diagnostic capability further expands the medical services able to be offered by the Kapuna Health Centre, and in particular supports the early detection and treatment of MDR-TB.
Click here to read a more in depth account in the PNG Resources online magazine.