22 Oct 2008

PNG health minister blames bureaucracy for bungling service delivery

4:58 pm on 22 October 2008

Papua New Guinea's health minister says incompetent bureaucrats in the struggling health system have not used about 350 million US dollars worth of funding.

Sasa Zibe says top health officials not doing their job means the much needed money just sits unused in accounts.

Mr Zibe says the funding should go to providing services, medicine and equipment.

He says bureaucrats have been sitting idle while huge sums destined for health services are not being delivered.

PNG's health system fights battles on numerous fronts including a HIV/AIDs epidemic, increasing infant mortality rates and widespread deaths from preventable diseases like malaria.