Mr Kelly Kewa, Dr Jethro Usurup and Mr Ray Krai

Farewell to three champions of primary health care

In 2022, Papua New Guinea lost three champions of primary health care. Kelly Kewa, Jethro Usurup, and Ray Krai were highly respected clinicians and leaders, and each had such a profound impact on my professional and personal experiences in PNG that I want to acknowledge their remarkable contributions.

Kelly Kewa was born in 1959 in Western Highlands Province. He completed his Diploma of Health Extension at the College of Allied Health Sciences in Madang in 1979 and worked as a clinical HEO before going on to complete a Master of Tropical Health at The University of Queensland in 1996. Kelly enjoyed learning and studied a Diploma of Community Health at University of PNG as well as completing management qualifications in Japan and United Kingdom.

Kelly led Abt Global’s flagship community health partnership program in Western Province throughout its operations from 2009 to 2018. He was a tough but fair leader, working in a difficult environment, and he held everyone accountable to his own high standards. By this time Kelly had worked in health management rather than as a clinician for several years, yet he maintained his clinical registration to ensure he stayed up to date and could assist in clinics when needed.

Kelly’s reputation as a leader, health worker, and man of integrity preceded him. He had excellent judgment and knew when an issue needed his attention. He brought together organisations and individuals from across the province, and managed to break down longstanding communication barriers between health services and helped them to work together. Kelly was a true diplomat, a negotiator and ambassador, and for this reason he was the right person to lead the health partnership program. His contributions to his communities were recognised with a British Empire Medal in 2003.

Dr Jethro Usurup was another leader whose reputation was unblemished and his connections strong. Born in 1953 in New Ireland Province, Dr Usurup received his MBBS from UPNG in 1978 and spent the next 30 years working in clinical and senior medical administration roles across PNG and spent a year at Sydney University studying a Master of Public Health, in 1987. His distinguished career was recognised when he was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

Dr Usurup was Abt’s Senior Medical Officer from 2008 and in his 13 years with the company he led countless teams working across the country. His military background – Dr Usurup was a Retired Lieutenant Colonel in the PNG Defence Force – meant that any patrol or project that he was involved in ran smoothly, and he would trek as far and as hard as any of his team members. As well as having senior roles in programs such as the Lihir Islands Community Health Program in his home province, Dr Usurup represented the company’s portfolio of private sector programs for many years. Dr Usurup was adept at promoting the value of investing in primary health care, to the extent that he often switched roles and started implementing the programs he had designed. Many of the programs he delivered focused on assisting health services to meet and uphold national health service standards.

Dr Usurup was internally relied on as Abt’s chief of ethics, both formally as chief investigator of evaluations and research projects, and informally as a trusted leader who would provide thoughtful and culturally sensitive advice. Dr Usurup’s skill in the art of storytelling, in any context, cannot be surpassed.

Ray Krai had a long association with Abt. Born in 1979 in Western Highlands Province, Ray’s first qualifications were in nursing, receiving a Certificate in General Nursing in 1996 from Sopas Adventist College of Nursing. This was soon followed by a Bachelor of Health Science and a Graduate Diploma in Teaching, both at Pacific Adventist University.

Ray worked in a number of clinical and supervisory roles before starting with Abt (known then as JTA International) in 2007 as a Health Promotion Officer in Goroka, and worked in that role for over 3 years before moving to other community-based roles. Ray’s interest and skills in health promotion led him to study a Master of Health and International Development at Flinders University. He received a scholarship to undertake these studies, and on completion was awarded an Australian Prime Minister’s Pacific Award. It was following his studies in Adelaide that Ray returned to work with Abt.

In 2014 Ray took up the position of Health Promotion Officer on Abt’s community health program in Western Province. Ray was a consummate community development practitioner and was instrumental in progressing the Village Health Volunteer program in South Fly District. It was during his many outreach patrols to remote communities along the Fly River that Ray worked closely with communities to find local solutions to local health problems. Ray later returned to Abt and Kiunga, this time in a senior management role as Primary Health Care Manager when he managed the team of primary health care workers, coordinated their outreach patrols, and of course joined the patrols whenever he could.

Ray’s next positions with Abt were in Port Moresby, with roles in business development and project management. He provided mentoring and supervision to Abt’s remaining clinical staff in Kiunga. Ray’s own experience and his gentle, encouraging manner made him an exceptional mentor. Ray’s other significant contribution to primary health care was as Technical Reviewer and Contributor to the Health Care Manual for Community Health Workers in PNG (3rd edition).

I consider myself so fortunate to have worked alongside Kelly, Dr Jethro and Ray, listening, observing, and learning from them. My reflections here are just a snapshot of their esteemed careers, which I hope bring comfort to their families: Kelly’s wife Delilah and their children and grandchildren, Dr Jethro’s wife Leah and their children and grandchildren, and Ray’s wife Paula and their four children.

Vale my dear friends and colleagues.