Port Moresby or the bush?

85% of the population of Papua New Guinea lives in rural areas. Most death in Papua New Guinea occur in rural areas - from diseases that can easily be cured or prevented. We know how to treat them. We have the drugs. But we do not deliver the goods. We do not deliver health services to rural villages. This is the central problem of health care in Papua New Guinea, all else is secondary to it. It is just as important to train Papua New Guinea doctors to tackle the problem of delivering health services to rural areas (public health) as it is to train them in what to deliver (clinical medicine). If we do not deliver rural services, but persist in concentrating on urban curative services, then we will go on being largely irrelevant to the health needs of Papua New Guinea.