By ESWIN PLESIO, UPNG Journalism student
The Kimbe Provincial Health Authority (KPHA) moved to strengthen healthcare services in the province with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CPL Group last Friday.
The agreement aims to enhance access to essential medical supplies, address drug shortages, and support community health initiatives across West New Britain.
Dr Joseph Nale from KPHA said: “We will have the prescription being endorsed and the patients will go to the pharmacy, present the prescription and get the supply.”
He added that the authorization of the agreement will help ensure a consistent supply of consumables for patients.
“This means we won’t have to send patients away for one or two weeks and ask them to come back. They can get what they need when they need it,” Dr Nale said.
CPL Group, one of Papua New Guinea’s largest retail and pharmaceutical service providers, will work closely with KPHA to make it easier and faster to order medical supplies, improve the way medicines and equipment are stored and managed, and look at ways to run health awareness and outreach programs together.
Head of the CPL Pharmacy in Kimbe, Pradeep Panda, said: “A patient visits the hospital, the doctor prescribes the medicine, and the patient brings the prescription to the pharmacy to receive it. If the medicine is not available at our pharmacy, the patient can go to the other two pharmacies in Kimbe to get what they need.”
He added that the agreement reflected the company’s ongoing commitment to supporting health services across Papua New Guinea.
Governor Sasindran Muthuvel and other provincial leaders who attended the signing, welcomed the partnership, noting that rural health facilities in particular stand to benefit from more reliable distribution systems and greater access to essential medicines.