Back to Current Cohort Melinda Matanu
Papua New Guinea
Master of Global Health; Master of Health Leadership and Management, The University of New South Wales
Melinda is an award-winning pharmacist and health access advocate. As a pharmacy department Team Leader in the private mining hospital where she worked for nine years, Melinda was recognised by hospital management as an outstanding pharmacist. In 2019, she was named Pharmacist of the Year by the Pharmaceutical Society of Papua New Guinea (PNG) for her advocacy in innovation and technology; encouraging public-private partnerships in the procurement and distribution of medical supplies to rural communities in the Western Province.
Melinda intends to collaboratively engage with her community to utilise available resources, build on existing strengths, and strategically identify ways to improve the distribution and accessibility to essential medicines in rural PNG.