TB remains top killer in Western Province

​The special parliamentary committee on public sector reform and service delivery says tuberculosis remains one of the largest killers in Western Province.

The committee chaired by Goroka MP Bire Kimisopa mentioned this in its interim report on health sector management last week.

The report looked at the health status of the country in contrast with the status of the country in past years.

The committee identified ailing health facilities and the lack of funding as the primary causes for TB affecting a lot of people.

The forms of TB prevalent in South Fly and Middle Fly districts are multi-drug resistant TB and extensively drug resistant TB. Daru islander Catherina Abrahams died in Australia in 2013 after succumbing to a year-long battle with TB which is considered a terminal illness.

“It is obvious that with the current state of health facilities, equipment and staffing in the area, it will be impossible to adequately address the TB issues,” the report said.

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