Comfortable and Efficient: Malaria Treatment Distribution
Today’s task is to take two health officers, Enoch and Robbie, from the Sandaun Provincial Health service to four of their health centres to distribute Malaria tablets and do a quick check on their health facilities and encourage the staff working at each. We take advantage of some extra available space in the aircraft to top it up with extra medical supplies for Oksapmin, Tekin and Telefomin until we have reached the maximum permitted take-off weight for the aircraft. Once everything is loaded we depart for Tekin.
Unfortunately arriving overhead Tekin there is still fog in the bottom of the valley and so we are unable to land. We divert three minutes around the corner of the mountain to Oksapmin in the next valley which is clear.
At Oksapmin the Malaria tablets get unloaded and also the 108kg of medical supplies we topped up with. Enoch and Robbie walk off to inspect the health centre. While they are at the health centre the MAF Agent at the airstrip explains to me that there are students desperate to travel to Telefomin for their Grade 10 exams after their mid year break. I have to explain that unfortunately I do not have space for them on this flight but they can standby as I might be able to help some of them after unloading at Tekin.
Enoch and Robbie return and we depart for Tekin where the clouds have now lifted enough to allow a landing. Again, Enoch and Robbie walk to the health centre to deliver the Malaria tablets and check things out while many willing helpers offload the 208kg of medical supplies we were able to top up for Tekin. Once Robbie and Enoch return, we decide there is enough time to return to Oksapmin and pick up some students. We quickly make that stop and then take the students that fit to Telefomin.
At Telefomin we unload the remaining 340kg of medical supplies and Malaria tablets and refuel the aircraft for the next flight to Tumolbil. We then take off again for Tumolbil.
Tumolbil is a very spectacular airstrip perched at the top of a valley with an 11% slope and a very early committal point which leaves little margin for error on approach. It is about as far west as you can go in PNG without entering Indonesia. In fact, the circuit comes right up to the border with Indonesia. It is just starting to rain at Tumolbil and I am eager to not spend too much time on the ground before the rain closes in. The health centre is right next to the airstrip, so Enoch and Robbie quickly get to work while I deal with some more passengers wanting to travel back to Telefomin. Fortunately the rain stays on the surrounding ridges and away from the airstrip and we can easily depart to Telefomin.
Back at Telefomin, Enoch and Robbie continue their work at the health centre while Eugene and Stephen, our MAF traffic officers, again take care of refuelling and loading P2-MAH. Robbie actually lives in Telefomin to service the health centre. So we leave him behind and pick up two other health officers needing to travel to Wewak. At about 3:30pm, we finally depart Telefomin for the 40 minute flight to Nuku while the rain is starting to move into the valley off the nearby ridge lines. Onboard I have Enoch and the two health officers returning to Wewak and a family of three travelling to Nuku.
When we get out of the highlands, we finally fly clear of the rain and cloud and have a smooth journey to Nuku. At Nuku there are six passengers waiting to travel to Wewak. Four of them are patients with various illnesses, the worst of these appears to be a two year old girl called Corina with an eye injury. After we have carefully weighed everyone and loaded their bags, all 9 passengers take a seat in P2-MAH for the flight to Wewak. The weather has cleared up again and we have a smooth flight back to Wewak.
The patients are picked up by the ambulance and taken to the hospital for treatment. Enoch is very pleased that he could complete all of his work on the same day. We were able to deliver all of the Malaria tablets and some additional medicines to the four aid posts and he and Robbie could visit and encourage their staff serving at remote health facilities in an area which is not accessible by road at all, only by air.
We as MAF are pleased to assist the PNG Health Department overcoming a distance of almost 700km in less than 4 hours flight time. How comfortable and efficient is that! That’s where MAF’s heartbeat is making an extra jump: to help others to accomplish their work and to see people in remote areas physically and spiritually uplifted – by medicine and kind words of encouragement.
Story and Photos Luke Newell