Not all villages or sub-districts in Papua have health facilities such as puskesmas (public health centers). One of them is Waliam village. The good news, the government only inaugurated this new health center in Waliam village last March.
There is No Health Service in Waliam Village
The Waliam Village is one of the villages in the Central Salawati sub-district, Sorong district, West Papua. It is one of the inland villages where people still have difficulty accessing health facilities. This is because this village has no health facilities such as a health center, hospitals, or the like.
Waliam villagers who are sick and want treatment must go to the public health center in other villages, such as the health center in Sailolof. This public health center is in South Salawati.
Due to the difficulty in accessing health services, it is not surprising that the morbidity rate for people in this village is still quite high. Most Waliam villagers don’t treat their sickness and just let the pain heal by itself.
Another example is during the pandemic some time ago. The local government had to bring in Sailolof health center staff to administer vaccines to the residents of Waliam village.
The government provides vaccination outlets for residents of Waliam village at the village hall. At that time, 29 residents of Waliam received the Sinovac-type vaccination. In more detail, 5 people got the first dose of vaccination while 24 people got the second dose of vaccination.
In addition, vaccination is carried out by one vaccinator and 10 health workers. Besides, the vaccination activity also received security from 2 Seget police personnel.
Habits of Local Residents Worsen Health Quality in Waliam Village
The unhealthy habits of some Waliam residents also exacerbate the absence of a public health center in Waliam village. Most of the Waliam people still often drink liquor until they are drunk.
They could get these drinks because there were large-scale liquor producers around them.
Because of this, Sorong Resort police officers issued an appeal and counseling to the community in Waliam village and its surroundings regarding the dangers of drinking alcohol for their own health and the safety of others.
Construction of a Community Health Center in Waliam Village
To improve the welfare of inland communities in the health sector, the Sorong district government has begun to build a health facility in Waliam village.
The health facility’s construction coincided with the district office’s construction. The construction lasted for almost 10 months, from around June 2022 to March 2023.
Meanwhile, the laying of the first stone for the two buildings was carried out by the Regent of Sorong, Johny Kamuru. In addition, other parties, such as the Seget Police Chief, the head of the district health office, the Sorong resort police, and village heads in Central Salawati, also attended the event.
Meanwhile, the health center’s construction in Waliam uses the Special Allocation Fund (Indonesian: Dana Alokasi Khusus -DAK). In the future, this health center will become a representative health facility that can serve the residents of Waliam village and its surroundings.
Inauguration of the Waliam Health Center
The event to inaugurate establishing a new health center in Waliam generated enthusiasm from many parties. The Sorong Regent’s official, Yan Piet Mosso, expressed his appreciation and hopes for the construction of this health service.
Mosso said that the existence of a health center in this village could hopefully provide significant benefits for the Waliam community and its surroundings. He also hopes that the morbidity rate, or even the death rate, will decrease.
Apart from having a sturdy building, this new wellness facility is also equipped with complete facilities to support health services. Examples include general examination sets (height measuring devices, adult scales, etc.), birth control service sets, simple laboratory examination sets, and many others.
In addition to having complete facilities, the facility also has several health workers who will be in charge of serving the community. Finally, Yan Piet Mosso, in his speech, hopes that everyone, from the elderly to babies, will come to the health center in Waliam village to get a medical checkup when they feel sick.
