Diocese Health

We are define by the efforts of our early catholic missionaries, dating back to the eighteen hundreds when the first evangelisation of the word of God was brought to the shores of New Britain in 1882 by the Missionaries of the Scared Heart and then to Yule Island in 1885. When they came they brought with them knowledge to teach the gospel, skills to build churches, mission houses, classrooms to teach and train and health centres to care for the sick and dying.
The importance of building a holistically integral; part of a human persons, mind, body and soul has been part of the church history through decades of witnessing to evangelisation, the colonial era, the second world war and the pre and post-independence period in Papua New Guinea.

Today the church continues to serve the people in urban, peri-urban and remotely located places with schools and health care supporting the government with these vital services.

Within the provinces each diocese is a legal entity and recognised through the constitution of Papua New Guinea. Health Services at the Diocese level is governed by the Diocesan Bishop. His primary role is to:

  • Ensure health services are operational
  • Screen Health Manager candidates to be in line with the national health policy manual
  • Safeguard church values, moral teachings and ethics
  • Ensure the  diocesan health board is functional
  • Make sure that health workers abide by their professional ethics and the philosophies of the Catholic Church
  • Make sure that church is transparent and accountable for church health grants 
  • Ensure that the diocesan health office aligns to the national health plan in collaboration with the Provincial Health Authority

Training Schools

Training schools also emerged in the early years of missionary together with education and health. The training institutions established then have trained over a thousands midwives, community health workers and nursing officers who serve in various capacity within the countries health systems. These schools have stood through history and continue to operate under the banner of the catholic values. 

CCHS coordinates 4 Catholic Health Worker (CHW) Training Schools and funding for these schools is earmarked separately and disbursed directly to the schools. Typically in the past,  these schools received their operational grants quarterly from the National Department of Health. Despite the challenges involved in running the schools, they carefully balanced out whatever funding receive to cater for various expenditure that is critical for ongoing operations.

Four community health workers training schools are under National Department of Health and offering certificate and diploma course:

  • Southern Highlands Province,  Kumin Community Health Worker Training School.
  • West Sepik Province, Aitape Raihu Community Health Worker Training School 
  • New Ireland Province, Sacred Heart Lemakot School of Nursing & Community Health Worker
  • Central Province, Kairuku District, Bereina Veifa St Gerard’s Community Health Worker Training School

Saint Mary’s Vunapope School of Nursing College is accredited to higher level which is under DHERST and offering degree programmed through Divine Word University.

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