Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters visited the Papua New Guinea school of medicines on Monday and announced NZ$18.9 million towards the construction of a new Centre for Eye Health in Port Moresby.
“The construction of this state-of-the-art facility will support both the delivery of essential eye health services to patients, and eye health training to health professionals,” Peters says.
The funding for the new Centre for Eye Health marks an extension of the long-term support that New Zealand has previously provided to eye health in Papua New Guinea through the Fred Hollows Foundation.
Lady Roslyn Morauta of the Fred Hollows Foundation in Papua New Guinea welcomed the ‘substantial support’ and says this will go towards a training facility for nurses, clinicians, doctors from all over the country.
“It’s a service badly needed. We have a chronic shortage of eye health services in the country, this will go a long way,” Morauta says.
New Zealand health minister Dr Shane Reti is proud of the cooperation with Papua New Guinea, and the contribution to this important sector.
“New Zealand looks forward to continuing to work with the Fred Hollows Foundation New Zealand, the Papua New Guinea Department of Health, Port Moresby General Hospital, and the University of Papua New Guinea to bring this project to reality,” says Dr Reti.
