Madang PHA signs MoU with Tree Kangaroo Conservation program to advance one health initiative
The Madang Provincial Health Authority has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program to enhance the delivery of health services to the people on the border areas of Kabwum District in the Morobe Province and Raikos District in Madang Province.
These are mainly areas covered by the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program in its research and conservation efforts.
TKCP is an environmental non- government organisation that provides specialised technical support for the protection of wildlife and the environment in the Yus Conservation Area in Kabwum, Morobe Province, since 1996.
Yus is one of the country's most biologically diverse and remote regions, however; TKCP has been working in collaboration with the local communities there to address key development issues such as livelihoods, governance, and health.
Although TKCP's initial focus was on researching and conserving the Tree Kangaroo, which is an endangered species of kangaroos that is only found in that region, it has also gone into promoting the interconnected wellbeing of the people, animals and the environment; after recognising that human flourishing is essential to long- term conservation efforts, stressing that the human being must be healthy in order to maintain a healthy wildlife and environment.
TKCP has initiated the One Health Approach, which provides a framework for collaboration between the two parties in delivering community health outreach, training Village Health Volunteers, conducting disease surveillance and jointly advocating for improved health services in the hard- to- reach areas.
The MoU was signed by Chief Executive Officer, Dr Martin Daimen and Karoi Kamac, Acting Director of Public Health on behalf of Madang PHA; and Alfred Kuket, Manager- Governance and Engagement and Roseylita Opa, One Health Partnerships Coordinator on behalf of TKCP.
The agreement also recognises the continuation of biennial visits by TKCP's international volunteer medical team, which, since 2005, has been supporting capacity building and delivered specialised services for community health workers, peer educators and traditional birth attendants across the Yus Conservation Area.
TKCP Executive Director, Modi Pontio, said the MoU marks an important step forward.
"This MoU will allow us to work with MaPHA to facilitate the delivery of essential health programs to the Yus Conservation Area. Our dream is to create an environment where human beings are living in harmony with their environment. Yus has the potential to demonstrate that, but this will not happen without the participation of partners such as health professionals and those entrusted with the responsibility to provide health care.
"The MoU helps us to understand our roles and where we can collaborate to deliver much-needed health services to the community. We thank our partners, including the Madang and Morobe Provincial Health Authorities and the Canada Fund, for supporting this initiative and formalising an enduring commitment to serve the Yus communities.
Grants provided by Canada Fund have helped in sending the health volunteers to the conservation areas, as well as assisted in making the MoU possible.
"The signing reflects a shared vision for healthier communities, resilient ecosystems, and sustainable development across the Yus Conservation Area as well as throughout Madang and Morobe provinces," Mr Pontio said.
Kuket stated in his remarks during the signing that TKCP has a number of programs running in Yus, and health is one of them.
"We've had this program for 10 to 15 years now, but this is the first time that we've actually engaged a health professional to run and coordinate the program. We are so thankful to Ms Opa, who has joined us recently and with her expertise in that field; she's guided us well into how we can program our work and how we can integrate human health, animal health and environmental health into one program and that's why we call this program, One Health Program," Mr
Kuket added.
Dr Daimen described the signing as a small but significant occasion.
He thanked TKCP, especially those working on the borders of Madang and Morobe, for the tremendous efforts they put into bringing much-needed health services to the people.
The CEO further stated that this week's signing fulfils one of the National Health Department's Key Result Areas, KRA 1; under the National Health Plan 2021- 2030, which calls for Effective Community Engagement.
The CEO said, "These communities are so isolated, and one of the needs which you are now coming to us to strengthen is a very significant one.
"We have five KRAs, and KRA 1 is Healthy Communities through Effective Engagement, and that's one of the things you're already working in strengthening.
"Communities need to live healthy, and we need to bring services closer to them."
Dr Daimen also thanked TKCP for reaching out to Madang with the initiative.
TKCP signed the first MoU with the Morobe Provincial Health Authority recently, and Madang is the second as the program extends into Madang's Raikos District.