Over 100 health workers and managers attend the CCHS 2nd National Conference in Port Moresby
A three-day national conference was organized by the Catholic Church Health Services National Office and attended by representatives from across the country. The participants consisting mostly of Health Managers, Health Facility Officers In-Charge and senior health workers were exposed to a variety of sessions facilitated by the National Health Department, development partners and within CCHS.
“Improving Rural Health from Heart to Health” is the theme of the conference and aligns closely to the approach CCHS is taking in healthcare delivery. The objectives are to:
- Share experiences from different service models and outline the various conditions and environments that health workers had to live through so that healthcare is delivered.
- Recognizing the importance of Health Standards and compliances and the necessary processes that each healthcare provider as to follow.
- And finally, emphasizing on the importance of health promotion to build healthy communities.
An opening ceremony was held on the first day of the conference that was attended by the National Department of the Health and development partners. The guest honour, Honourable Dr Lino Tom, Minister for Health and HIV AIDS could not attend in person, so his address was delivered by Ms Elva Lionel, Deputy Secretary for Corporate Services, National Department of Health. In his written address, the Honourable Minister, commended the work of the Catholic Church Health Services as being the single largest faith-based organization to deliver healthcare in very remote communities. “About 47 percent of rural health facilities is operated by Churches and more than 50 percent of that is managed by the Catholic Church Health Services,” wrote the Honourable Minister.
His Excellency Sir John Cardinal Ribat together with 8 other fellow Bishops also attended the opening ceremony and stayed on for the remainder of the conference. The attendance of the Bishops at the National Conference is a first of its kind for a CCHS organized event and signifies the administrative commitment from the Bishops. Deputy Bishop for Health Commission, Reverend Bishop Francis Meli gave the opening address, where he emphasized on the need to build dedicated health workers who can serve in very remote locations, the need to improve infrastructure and equipment, fostering stronger partnerships and upholding the Ministry of Jesus Christ as a guide to empower service delivery.
The conference ended on day-three with the attendance of Provincial Health Authority Chief Executive Officers. A total of nine CEOs from Hela PHA, Jiwaka PHA, Enga PHA, Manus PHA, Milne Bay PHA, Western PHA, and Madang PHA attended. The presence of the CEOs demonstrated partnership strengthening at the provincial level, where Dr James Kintwa from Hela PHA described the partnership in Hela as a team effort, and every government and non-government organizations are treated by the PHA equally. “All partners in the Hela are given a grant despite getting some funding directly from Government of PNG, because we know that some of these grants can be delayed, but they will need support to do the work,” said Dr Kintwa.
During the closing dinner, an awarding ceremony was held to recognize and acknowledge the contributions and commitment of 43 long-serving health workers. Their periods of service ranged between 15 to 47 years. CCHS together with invited guests acknowledged CCHS staff commitment for long service with the church services as 47 Years and less. Presenting the awards were representatives from NDoH and the Catholic Bishops Conference. CCHS National Secretary, Sr Jadwiga Faliszek thanked the NCCHS team for organizing a successful conference and most importantly, all health workers in attendance for their faithfulness to the service. “Very often with lack of medication or necessary equipment, your presence and dedication to care means a lot and makes the difference in communities” she said.
Sponsors of the 2nd CCHS National Conference include Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG & Solomon Islands, Bank South Pacific Life Insurance and Telikom PNG.
