Sir Peter Barter visits IMR | Minister launches broadband | PNGIMR delegation visit NARI | Directors directions | EPO project update | Update on PCV project | IMR Goroka get training on DMSys | Staff attend workshop in Malasia | New Staff | Students complete honours | This quater in picture | Gone for studies | Five staff graduate from DWU | Social Research Cadetship program | Malawi HIV/AIDS delegation visit Goroka | Message of Hib vaccie to PNG | Don Lewis revisits PNGIMR | Information for health workers for Hib vaccine | Dual visit Professor M J Cardosa's lab | Michael Alpers library news | IMR women celebrate IWD

Click here to download this newsletter in PDF format (240kB)

Sir Peter Barter visits IMR

Minister for Health and Bougainville Affairs Sir Peter Bater visited the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research headquarters in Goroka on Friday 8th of January along with a delegation from Malawi.

PNGIMR DIRECTOR PROFESSOR PETER SIBA MEETS MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND BOUGAINVILLE AFFAIRS SIR PETER BARTER AND THE MALAWI DELEGATION IN FRONT OF THE PNGIMR HEADQUATERS CAR PARK

The delegation from Malawi comprised of Dr Sam Phiri who is CEO of the Lighthouse VCT and treatment centre, in Lilongwe, Malawi and Mr Matt Boxshall who assists with the management of the Lighthouse Centre.

Director of the PNGIMR Professor Peter Siba said that he was grateful that the Minister found time to visit the Institute as he always wanted to visit the PNGIMR for a while but never had the time as he is a very busy and hard working minister.

Professor Siba was glad that at the same time the Minister came to Goroka he brought with him the Malawi delegation who were in the country.

Professor Siba said that Sir Peter’s main purpose of the visit to Goroka was to visit the PNGIMR, Goroka base hospital, other health institutions in the province plus VCT centres. PNGIMR played host to him while he and the Malawi delegation were in the province.

The Minister had the opportunity to look at the PNGIMR Michael Alpers library, the extension of the administration block, the Adolf Saweri Lecture Hall and the Operation Research Unit wing, which were new infrastructures in place.

“Its good that he came to see all these things because he was chairman of the incentive fund when they awarded the funding to PNGIMR to build and renovate its existing buildings in Goroka,” said Professor Siba.

Professor Siba pointed out that Sir Peter Barters visit to PNGIMR was also very worth while as he had a special affection for PNG IMR and had long association with the institute.

In the early days he used to work as a volunteer mission pilot transporting samples from Okapa into Goroka from Kuru patients and when he went to Madang he still had close connections.

Occasionally he used to be the chairman of many of PNGIMRs meetings and gatherings; the last was in 1993 when he was chairman of the PNGIMR Silver Jubilee of Research in the country.

Professor Siba said that he was happy that at the same time Sir Barter came to look around PNGIMR Goroka he also launched the Institutes VSAT Broad band.