Wednesday, June 29th, 2010 – Port Moresby: the Kaugere Foursqaure Mobile Clinic, funded by Digicel Foundation and operated by partner Living Light Foursquare Church Kaugere, successfully provided treatment for 941 people in Abau District over the month of June in its mission to help curb the spread of the deadly Cholera disease.

The Kaugere Living Light Foursquare Church was approached in early June by the NCD Cholera Taskforce, with an urgent request for medical assistance in the Abau District after reports were confirmed by Central Province Health Department of a Cholera outbreak there. The Foursquare Church responded effectively to the emergency situation by dispatching its Mobile Clinic, a fully kitted Toyota Landcruiser ambulance, donated by Digicel Foundation in 2009, free of charge to the affected area. The Mobile Clinic comprises of a Nursing Officer and two Community Health Workers as well as all the medical equipment and medication needed to respond to medical emergencies such as this.

The mobile clinic ambulance was used to transport medical staff and materials to and from Abau over the two week period that the Kaugere Foursqaure Church medical team was based in Abau. The Digicel Foundation donated ambulance served the medical team well, going through the rough, muddy terrain of Abau transporting the more serious cases to Port Moresby General Hospital. Over the two weeks in Abau, the Mobile Clinic Staff recorded treating 941 people from Waiori, Wanigela, Gavuone and Maopa villages. The Mobile Clinic Team returned to Port Moresby on Saturday 26th June, satisfied that the situation is now finally coming under control. 

Pastor Rodney Tomuriesa, senior pastor at the Kaugere Foursquare Church said: “It was an emergency situation and an effective response was needed. Because we had the appropriate equipment and mobile clinic vehicle, we could immediately dispatch the dedicated medical team from Kaugere Foursquare Church as an emergency response unit to treat the people affected by Cholera in the Abau area free of charge. We are happy to serve the community where we can and pleased to see that the reported Cholera cases in the Abau area are now decreasing thanks to effective resources such as the mobile clinic ambulance donated to us by the Digicel Foundation”. 

The mobile clinic which was donated to Kaugere Foursqaure Church in July of last year visits settlements in NCD and more rural villages in Central Province on a monthly basis treating an average of 1,000 people a month. The services provided to the visited communites include essential health services such as immunization of infants, treatment for diseases (TB, malaria etc.), HIV/AIDS testing, treatment and counselling, health awareness and dental treatment. These services are provided free of charge. 

Marina van der Vlies, Digicel Foundation CEO, commented: “We are very pleased to see that essential resources such as the Digicel Foundation funded mobile clinic ambulance are dispatched in times of emergency to serve the communties most in need of medical help. It is important that life saving resources are flexible and put to their maximum use especially in emergency cases such as the recent Cholera outbreak in Abau. We are proud of the effective joint action taken by the NCD Cholera Taskforce, the Kaugere Foursqaure Church and other service providers and would like to commend them for their collective action in curbing the spread of Cholera in the affected area.”

Foursquare Church operates two health clinics; one at Kaugere and another at Kila Kila in Port Moresby. Their medical team consists of over 38 medical staff including 20 nurses, 2 Health Extension Officers and a Doctor and operates 5 days a week serving the poorest squatter settlements in Port Moresby city, treating up to 8,000 people monthly at a modest charge.  

To date the Digicel Foundation has funded 38 Community Learning Centres, 11 primary school and 16 elementary school infrastructure projects; three Mobile Health Clinics, four Meri Seif Haus projects and four Family Support Centres. The Digicel Foundation plans to continue the funding of mobile clinic ambulances to help bring essential health services to the many rural communities in PNG that have no access to basic health services.