FEDERAL MP Warren Entsch has again slammed AusAID’s foreign aid management after it was recently revealed that the hospital at war-torn Bougainville is of a far better standard than the dilapidated facility at Daru Island, on Australia’s doorstep.
The photos of Bougainville hospital were provided to Mr Entsch after a local non-profit organisation visited the area in April of this year.
“These photos taken at Bougainville could have been taken at any small town in Australia,” Mr Entsch explained. “It’s not a highly advanced facility, but it’s clean and tidy, the staff wear appropriate gloves and breathing masks, and there is a refrigerator for drug storage.
The emergency room at Bougainville (left) and Daru (right)
“It’s amazing to consider that this region has been in absolute lockdown due to a violent civil war, all the funding was pulled out, yet the facility has been run and maintained by the local people.
“The visit a month ago was the first time in a very long time than any white people had even ventured into the area, but when you look at the standard and cleanliness of it I would be more than happy to spend time there if I required treatment.
“At the other end of the scale, I look at the hospital at Daru, which has received investment from AusAID to the tune of millions of dollars in recent years, and it’s a disgrace.
“The bureaucrats come to me and have the audacity to say, ‘It’s a third world country’ and we shouldn’t expect too much, yet the standard at Bougainville clearly contradicts this attitude.
The drug room at Bougainville (left) and Daru (right)
“This is an indictment on the way we provide our aid and on the bureaucrats and ministers who are letting this happen.”