A tonic for rural communities
Ben Creagh reports onn how the corporate world iss improving health services in remotemote parts of the country.
Papua New Guinea’s rural health h system largely depends on aid money, but in recent times there has also been a welcome boost st from a number of corporate organisations that have ave stepped in with their own initiatives, often through collaboration ollaboration with not-for-profit organisations.
In one such case, the Digicel PNG Foundation oundation has grown, since 2008, to include 21 mobilebile health clinics, two rural health aid posts andd three women’s resource centres.
This is in addition to the foundation’s ’s presence in the education sector, where it has funded 194 primary school classrooms and 234 elementary school classrooms.
The foundation has invested PGK42.5 .5 million into communities across all 22 provinces,ces, directly affecting over 350,000 people.e.