HIV Project in Papua New Guinea

After a two day delay in the Solomon Islands due to Cyclone Ului, I finally make it to the PNG highlands. Goroka is 1600m above sea level and after the Solomons,  a refreshing 23 degrees with no humidity. I’m here on a monitoring visit for the UNICEF NZ and NZAID KOHA-funded “HIV Prevention and Care for Women and the Most Vulnerable Children” project.  

Part of the project involves training leaders of Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs) from across the country to hold training sessions themselves in their provinces on awareness of HIV/AIDS and protection issues affecting children in PNG. The training seeks to lead FBOs to mobilise communities to care for and protect vulnerable chidren, including those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. This also aligns to the recent implementation of the Child Protection or “Lukautim Pikinini” act, which was passed by the PNG government in September 09.

The Bougainville team at the Training Workshop

The project is also supporting community outreach programmes, whereby medical teams visit remote communities to offer  Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) for HIV, Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT), Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and Ante-Natal Care (ANC)  services. They also arrange essential referrals to specialist services or support. With good family and community care and support and adherence to the proper Anti-Retroviral medication, HIV positive mothers can greatly reduce the chances of passing the virus on to their babies. My delay means I have to miss the visit to this area unfortunately, however Cristi Morf, the UNICEF PNG HIV Chief tells me that the ANC clinic at the rural hospital currently has 22 HIV positive mothers who have successfully completed a comprehensive PPTCT programme and now boast 22 HIV negative babies, an amazing achievement.

After a bumpy flight over the lush green coffee plantations of the highlands, we arrive back in Port Moresby to visit another project component. UNICEF PNG spends much time in identifying good local partner organizations to implement HIV services – Marie Stopes is one such organization and we visit their clinic and the Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS hotline “Yangpela” office. The project is funding awareness raising of the hotline which is aimed at young people, and is also paying for the phone line rental. We meet two of the phone counselors and they excitedly tell us that they are now taking 26 calls per day, from all over the country, up from 16 last year.

Marie Stops also do outreach services to communities in and around Port Moresby and the Western Highlands and we visit the Youth Centre in 8 mile, one of the poorest suburbs, where they run an HIV/STI Voluntary Counselling and Testing clinic once a week. Marie Stopes is one of the only  NGOs working in PNG that offer youth-friendly STI, reproductive health and HIV services.

"Yangpela" hotline banner at the 8 Mile centre

8 Mile is just out of the city but has a village feel – quiet, dirt track roads surrounded by hills and no running water or electricity (although the power lines have been up for some time). The youth centre is great – they are holding painting and Bilum-making (locally made colourful cotton bags) competitions, and the manager Wanpis shows us around. He has loads of enthusiasm and energy and is obviously very committed to the young people in the area. He says that groups of boys come here after rugby and he encourages them to take the STI and HIV tests at the mobile clinic, “and they want do do it!” he exclaims.  He has been to Melbourne to a launch of an 8 Mile photography exhibition and is taking a youth music group to China for a festival this year. The centre also has its own website – www.8milesettlement.com

With the majority of new HIV infections in young people, these HIV awareness and Care/VCT outreach project components are an essential part of the overall HIV response in the country. It’s great to see progress in these specific project components, however the overall national HIV response needs to ramp up if we are going to have the much-needed widespread impact. The geography and tribal culture of the country make this a challenge, however UNICEF, the other UN agencies and International NGOs are working closely with the National Aids Council and Departments of  Health, Education and Community Development to realise this goal.