Drugs and medical supplies are slowly flowing back to Papua New Guinea hospitals, but there is cynicism about whether they will last.
Mt Hagen Hospital, Papua New Guinea's third-largest, has run out of drugs and medical supplies as a nationwide drug shortage cripples hospitals around the country. Photo: EMTV
The country has been in the grip of a nationwide medicine shortage that forced some hospitals to close and pushed others to the brink.
Hospitals have complained of being under-supplied for months, which was exacerbated when the government's drug-buying tender lapsed in December with no replacement.
But last week, with hospitals stripped of supplies and doctors threatening to strike, the government finally stepped in to fix the tender issues.
The deputy chief executive of Mt Hagen Hospital, David Vorst, said he welcomed the return of supplies, but deeper issues persisted.
"Well certainly the National Department of Health is saying that they need to address this - get tenders in place or contracts in place with reliable suppliers and so forth," he said.
"But, you know, some of us that have been around a little while are starting to become a little bit cynical about these comments. You know, we'll believe it when we see it."