Summary

Mr. Kari Totona is a qualified Environmental Health Officer (EHO).  Prior to becoming a lecturer at the former College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS) in Madang, he worked as a field EHO for 3 years and spent 18 months in Namatanai and Kokoda Districts respectively. He was then posted to Bogia in Madang Province as a Training Officer for the EHO Practical Training Center for 6 years.  In total, he has had 9 years of real encounters and experiences of the environmental health challenges faced by rural communities in PNG. He transferred to CAHS campus in Madang in 1986 and made his way from a tutor to lecturer position in 2001.

As a result of the amalgamation of CAHS with Divine Word University (DWU) he transferred to DWU in 2007, and has held various positions including Senior Lecturer, Head of Department and currently designated as the Dean for FMHS.

Mr. Totona has obtained masters degree from the Queensland University of Technology in 2000, which paved the way to explore discussion for the upgrading of the Environmental Health Course to a Bachelors level.  With the input of stakeholders and consultants, he and his colleague developed the Bachelor of Environmental Health curriculum with the first batch of graduates in 2010. He assists in seeking various sources and grants to develop and upgrade Faculty and research programs in PNG. His major interest is on community water and sanitation issues in the rural settings, and has had many experiences in this field.

He works closely with the NDoH, EH Division as an advisor on EH issues and often attends national workshops for professional development and in-service training for environmental health professionals in PNG.

He is a Bible believing Christian and maintains and upholds Christian living in his life. He attends the local Foursquare Church in Madang.

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