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Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority

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Successful three-day training on non-communicable disease control and management for WHPHA staff

Participants and facilitators gather for a group photo at the Highlander Hotel, marking the successful completion of the three‑day workshop on non‑communicable disease management.
Participants and facilitators gather for a group photo at the Highlander Hotel, marking the successful completion of the three‑day workshop on non‑communicable disease management.

TWENTY staff from the Western Highlands Provincial Health Authority (WHPHA) have completed a three-day training workshop on the management and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), held from July 13th to 15th, 2026, at the Highlander Hotel in Mt Hagen. 

The training, facilitated by Access Health International, Susu Mamas and WHPHA, was tailored for frontline healthcare workers, including community health workers, nursing officers and health extension officers. The Sanofi Global Health Unit, a non-profit organization, provided funding support.

The training forms part of WHPHA’s broader wellness program strategy to strengthen primary healthcare capacity, expand wellness services to high-risk populations, and improve screening, case management and referral pathways to secondary care.

Participants included staff from WHPHA’s seven wellness clinics, district health promotion officers, Kotna Health Centre, Tininga HIV Clinic, Susu Mamas and City Pharmacy Ltd. Following the training, staff from Kotna and Tininga will now begin delivering wellness screening services, going forward.

Through interactive sessions and practical demonstrations, participants learned to identify and manage common lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. They also examined risk factors, including betel nut chewing, tobacco use, and unhealthy diets, already responsible for the majority of deaths in the province. A key highlight was the inclusion of oral cancer screening, which will now be integrated into the wellness clinics across the province.

Since the establishment of the wellness program in 2024, WHPHA has opened seven wellness clinics and conducted mobile outreach in schools, churches, businesses and communities to extend and better its services to those most in need.

CPL further supported the initiative by donating essential medical equipment, including blood pressure machines, glucometers, weighing scales and stethoscopes. These are vital tools for frontline screening and monitoring.

The training marks another milestone in WHPHA’s commitment to tackling lifestyle diseases and improving community health outcomes. With strengthened capacity among staff, the province is better positioned to deliver early detection, effective management, and timely referrals for NCDs, ultimately saving lives and reducing the burden of preventable illness.