Vanuatu Ombudsman slams government delay

By Sophie Faster Hildebrand

Vanuatu’s new Ombudsman Alatoa Hannington has slammed government officials’ delays in appointing medical practitioners.

He released a report mid-December to illustrate “how some government officers in decision-making positions, in setting their priorities, disregarded government policies and ignored the provision of the

law governing the requirement of medical practitioners.”

The report said because of this, that the health of mothers and babies in Vanuatu were put at risk from the period of 1994 to 1997.

It raised three main issues in the health administration • The disregarding of national and social priorities and government policy • Ignoring the provisions of the laws governing the requirements for medical practise in Vanuatu • Degrading, tarnishing and undermining the bilateral

relations between two sovereign states because of undue delay.

The Ombudsman said that the health officials involved in the allegation were the former Director of Health, Yves Niowenmal, the former Deputy Director of Health, Daniel Kalorib, the former Health Planners, Gedion Mael and Kathleen Rama, Senior Health Officer, Myriam Abel and the Personnel Officer in the Health Department, Judith Melsul.

He said in 1994, the British Government signed an agreement with the Vanuatu government to fund the position of a qualified gynecologist/obstetrician for Vila Central Hospital. The British Government and the National Planning Office provided assistance to the Health Department to speed up the recruitment process between 1994 and end of 1995, but the Health Department failed to make any recruitment.

The Ombudsman said the British Government withdrew the funding assistance after the Health Department failed to fulfil all the necessary requirement for recruitment by the dateline, despite several warnings from the British Aid Agency. “In 1995, the Health Department decided to recruit an expatriate general medical practitioner and employed her to work in the specialised medical area of gynaecology and obstetrics at the two major

Hospitals in Vanuatu.

“On enquiry, the Ombudsman revealed that Dr Anita Harish had no proper training and qualification in gynaecology and obstetrics. However, she was given the responsibility to perform the duties of a

gynaecologist/obstetrician practitioner in

the major Hospitals in Vanuatu,” a Statement by the Ombudsman said.

The Ombudsman made findings against

Niowenmal, Mael and Rama for failing to secure the funding assistance, saying, “It appears that they had other personal priorities and interest ahead of the national interest.”

The Ombudsman also made findings against Kalorib, Melsul and Abel for assisting Dr Anita Harish, a general medical practitioner, who had no proper training and qualification in gynaecology and obstetrics to practise as a gynaecologist/obstetrician practitioner in Vanuatu. He said their decisions contravened s.

5(1 )(a) and s. 18(2) of the Health Practitioners Act.

The Ombudsman recommended that Niowenmal and Kalorib should not be appointed again to any positions of responsibility in the Public Service without first obtaining “remedial administrative training.” The Ombudsman also asked the Public Service Commission to take disciplinary actions against Mael, Rama, Abel and Melsul. ■

Unlike private sector operations in Vanuatu, such as this ferry service pictured, health officials have been accused of delays which may have cost lives