Australian High Commission Papua New Guinea

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In celebration of World Health Day, Australia presented PNG’s Central Public Health Laboratory and provincial health laboratories with a year’s worth of pathology supplies.    The supplies and microscopy consumables allow laboratory staff to understand changes in blood chemistry and establish exactly which type of malaria parasite is present, ensuring that patients receive the correct medical treatment.    Accurate testing means cases can be confirmed appropriately, so they can build a clear picture of malaria incidence and budget, prepare and respond accordingly.    Dr Peniel Boas, Acting Executive Manager at the National Department of Health, expressed his gratitude to Australia for standing with PNG in the fight against infectious diseases including malaria.     The supplies will be distributed to hospital laboratories nationwide, allowing patients all over PNG to be treated quickly and correctly, saving lives and improving health for all.    #PNGAusPartnership  #WorldHealthDay  #SideBySideStepByStep #YumiStapWantaim 

Australia has supported 12 Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬 public servants to travel to Brisbane and participate in a macroeconomics modelling training course focused on policy decision making. Staff from the Department of Prime Minister & National Executive Council, Department of National Planning and Monitoring (DNPM), Department of Treasury, the National Statistics Office and the National Research Institute participated in the training. It equipped them with the skills and knowledge to run a series of economic models using PNG data, to understand how various policy interventions could affect not just the PNG economy, but also the livelihoods of Papua New Guineans. Upon their return, at a certificate ceremony, Minister-Counsellor Dr Cate Rogers thanked the participants for their studies and emphasised the importance of economic models in policy decision-making. DNPM Deputy Secretary Mr Michael Kumung highlighted the hands-on experience and its impact on understanding policy decisions across sectors, enabling sound policy advice for PNG based on facts. The group agreed that the training and toolkit, provided by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) provided confidence for evidence-based policy advice to facilitate effective decision-making for PNG's benefit. #PNGAusPartnership #YumiStapWantaim

Future of healthy families on track.     Inline with this year’s World Health Day theme, “Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures,” Australia continues to support communities in the remote Kokoda region to access basic health services, improving health outcomes across the Track.       The Australian Government is supporting health patrols to deliver essential health services to mothers and infants, promote health awareness, and refer Track communities to health centres.       Health patrols, integrated with the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, also provide an opportunity to raise awareness around gender-based family and sexual violence.       In 2024, 12 Integrated Maternal and Child Health patrols reached over 100 villages, with 6242 people accessing the service across the Kokoda Track region.       1777 children under 5 years of age received medical assistance and 94 per cent of children received scheduled immunisations during the patrols.     In partnership with the Central and Oro provincial health authorities and church partners, Australia is also supporting the operations of 12 health facilities across the Track region, providing health services that will improve the lives of communities in the region.        #PNGAusPartnership   #YumiStapWantaim  #SidebySideStepbyStep

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In an emergency health situation, timely and effective acute care is critical to increasing your chances of survival. That’s why Australia is delighted to have supported a group of clinicians from Port Moresby, Gerehu hospital, National St John Ambulance Service Papua New Guinea, as well as health care workers from as far afield as Tari and Kundiawa, as they all completed a Basic Emergency Care (BEC) course last week. To date, 50 participants from 13 provinces have now completed BEC courses. Two courses were recently run in Port Moresby, with further courses to be run in Mt Hagen and Rabaul in the coming months. A train-the-trainer course was also held. Australia is proud to be supporting these courses through the Regional Emergency and Critical Care Systems Strengthening Initiative (RECSI). RECSI aims to improve emergency and critical care systems, ensuring PNG clinicians can provide prompt and effective acute care for emerging health challenges. In Papua New Guinea, RECSI is provided with St John Ambulance PNG, supported by Alfred Health, Monash University, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, and the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society. Congratulations to the recent graduates, and to the trainers!

The Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR), established in 1968, focuses on critical health issues in PNG and influences health policies globally. Australia has supported PNGIMR since its inception. In 2018, Australia committed AUD 4 million through the STRONGIM IMR Program to enhance research capacity, with AUD 2 million going toward strengthening social science research. This initiative seeks to improve social, behavioural, and anthropological research, equipping local researchers to tackle community-specific health challenges. The Social Science Qualitative Research initiative helps understand factors like gender and culture affecting health. Currently, the team collaborates on projects involving infectious diseases, vector-borne diseases, and population health. Training sessions introduced new research concepts and methods. PNGIMR aims to integrate social science into all research programs for sustainable and locally-led initiatives. Australia's commitment to supporting PNGIMR is also evident in its collaboration with Australian institutions including Burnet, Kirby, and Doherty Institutes. This collaboration ensures that PNGIMR continues to produce research on PNG’s priority health programs at an international standard by expanding the capacities of its strongest programs and building the human and technical resources needed for impactful research. #PNGAusPartnership #SidebySideStepbyStep #YuMiStapWantaim

With support from Australia, PNG women are joining the ranks of aspiring company directors and senior executives in record numbers. Last year, female membership at the Papua New Guinea Institute of Directors (PNGID) surged 35 per cent to reach almost a third of overall membership. The jump follows Australian support to help PNGID achieve key milestones, including enhancing its governance policies and substantially boosting its female membership. As part of its work, PNGID – under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Megan Taureka-Andrew and newly-appointed President Clarence Hoot - provides training for current and aspiring company directors in their governance, ethical and technical responsibilities. In 2024, 200 people, including 74 women, graduated from its director development courses. #PNGAusPartnership #SidebySideStepbyStep

Stronger access to justice for all Pacific Wantoks!      👏 Congratulations to the Papua New Guinea Public Solicitor’s Office (OPS-PNG) and the Fiji Legal Aid Commission for successfully signing an MoU, laying the foundation for stronger legal aid collaboration between the two countries.      🗣 Public Solicitor Mr Leslie Mamu and his team conducted a successful visit to Fiji, engaging in strategic discussions with officials at the Fiji Legal Aid Commission head office in Suva, visiting regional offices and exploring areas for future collaboration and knowledge exchange. 🤝 This initiative, supported by Australia, marks another step in strengthening regional justice services in our Pacific neighbourhood.       🌏 Working together, OPS-PNG and Fiji LAC aim to improve legal services and expand access to justice.       #OnePacificRegion #OneSolwara #Justiceforall #LegalSupport #PacificPartnership #PNGFijiCollaboration #PNGAusPartnership 

Thanks to the installation of six new water tanks at Morobe’s Erap Boys Town, youth at the juvenile justice centre now have access to safe and reliable washing facilities. 🚿💧     Australian Consul-General Mr Brenton Kanowski and Ms Tessa Plueckhahn, Counsellor for Law and Justice at the Australian High Commission, officially handed over six 9,000 litre water tanks complete with plumbing to the Sacred Heart Brothers’ facility in Nadzab.     The newly installed water tanks will provide an increased 54,000-Litres of clean water for proper sanitation, create an environment that fosters dignity, and supports stability and routine at the centre.    This project represents more than just tanks and plumbing systems. It represents a shared belief in the potential of every young person to grow, change, and contribute positively to society.    As part of the handover, several rugby balls were also gifted to the centre to provide a positive recreational outlet for the boys 🏉🎁.    Bishop of Lae, Rozario Menezes, along with representatives of DJAG Juvenile Justice Services in Lae and Australian High Commission staff, welcomed these much-needed upgrades. 👍     This initiative is part of Australia’s support for law and order in PNG.     #PNGAusPartnership #JusticeAndLaw #CommunitySupport #Youth