Caritas Australia is in charge of rolling out a new partnership, known as PNG-Australia Sexual Health Improvement Program (PASHIP)in National Capital District, the Southern Highlands and Simbu, with four other non-government organisations and health providers involved in a total of eight provinces.
The Catholic health system in Papua New Guinea currently delivers around 25 percent of total health services, and catholic and other Churches are responsible for delivering a large amount of basic health and education services to many in the Pacific. Caritas Australia CEO Jack de Groot said, “This unique partnership to tackle Sexually Transmitted Infections, particularly HIV in PNG is indicative of the roles and responsibilities that church agencies like Caritas Australia has in our neighbouring countries.”
“Working at the grassroots is crucial to effectively tackling STIs in PNG. Our work focuses on education, prevention and treatment and reflects our philosophy of promoting the dignity of people. We are able to carry out this work in a culturally appropriate manner, as our partners are part of local communities. This is crucial to challenging the stigma that is still associated with STIs and HIV in many parts of PNG,” said Mr de Groot.
Dr Timothy Pyakalia, Deputy Secretary of the National Department of Health emphasised that PASHIP was a partnership between Australia and Papua New Guinea, government departments and non-government organisations saying, “the current arrangement with the Churches, who deliver the bulk of health services in remote and rural areas – was made in the 1980s. Back then HIV wasn’t a problem. Then PNG had a population of three million, now it has over six million. Then, 25,000 had malaria now over two million suffer from it. The Churches are being asked to take on more. This program is important in helping to build capacity.”
Papua New Guinea faces a devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic and it is estimated that by the year 2010, HIV/AIDS patients will occupy 70 percent of hospital bed nationwide. Dr Joachim Pantumari, the deputy director of the National AIDS Council Secretariat (NACS) warned the 9th annual nurses research symposium in Wewak, East Sepik province that HIV/AIDS would soon take a terrible toll on the people and economy of PNG if effective action was not taken to prevent the spread of HIV.
Dr Pantumari, speaking on the symposium’s theme “Empowering Nurses and Nurses in Caring and Advocacy in Response to HIV, AIDS and STI” at the Divine Word University estimated that prevalence levels could reach 18 percent by 2010 with over 50,000 adult deaths and a 13 percent reduction in the size of the working age population.
