Mass Drug Administration Program

In the last week of September, Ryan flew Shiv’s friend Alice (who attends my Ladies’ Fellowship group) and her health department colleagues out to Tumolbil, on the border between PNG and Indonesia. 

They were doing training for health workers and volunteers who are helping with the Mass Drug Administration program starting in the middle of October.  The plan is to provide drugs to deal with many tropical diseases to around 79,000 people across Sandaun Province.  They did training a few weeks ahead so that when the drugs arrive, the isolated communities are ready to receive the treatment. Ryan also picked them up 5 days later and brought them back to Telefomin.

When the drugs get rolled out, they will be administered alongside a childhood vaccination program to make sure these remote communities have all their children under 5 fully vaccinated for childhood diseases like Measles and Polio!

Without the MAF plane, these health workers would not be able to get to Tumolbil and the other border communities as it would take a week to walk there.  When the vaccines come, carrying them for a week would not work, the vaccines would not survive such a long journey out of a refrigerator, the plane is the only option to provide this life-saving health care. The Hospital being able to buy seats on board makes that option affordable!

Thank you for your support which enables this life-saving preventative health care to happen across PNG!

Alice and her health department colleagues, checked-in and waiting to board Ryan’s plane.

The project is a province-wide initiative.