Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE

'The hospital is out of everything': PNG crippled by drug shortage

JAMIE TAHANA | Radio New Zealand International

ON Tuesday night, an elderly woman went to Mt Hagen Hospital after she was slashed in the forehead, but doctors had no supplies or antibiotics to stitch and treat her wound.

On the same night, doctors driven to desperation having run out of gauze resorted to using patients' clothes to soak up blood and cover wounds.

The dire situation at Papua New Guinea's third-largest hospital is a scene playing out in hospitals around the country, where health centres have been crippled by a months-long drug shortage that doctors say has been in the making for years.

Single-handedly Alfred Masul got conservation on the move

STEVEN MAVII GIMBO

A MAN from the Ulingan-Malala area of Madang Province has been praised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as a role model in the fight against the effects of climate change and rising sea levels.

Community leader and conservation advocate Alfred Masul (pictured with his children) was commended for using his own initiative to start conservation activities using local knowledge and without much assistance from others.

WWF project officers learnt of Alfred’s activities as they were rolling out a project among Madang’s north coast communities.

Rimbunan Hijau has destroyed PNG’s forests & its social fabric

DOROTHY TEKWIE

I BELIEVE the Archbishop of Rabaul, Francesco Panfilo, and the Catholic Bishops' Conference are right in saying New Zealand lay missionary Douglas Tennent would have been deported from PNG because he was assisting landowners in Pomio against Rimbunan Hijau.

This is how Rimbunan Hijau operates in Papua New Guinea. It would get government officials to do what it wants.

I am a former Greenpeace Forest Campaigner in PNG and I know how RH operates.

This Asian logging company is not only the biggest destroyer of PNG's forests, it has destroyed the social fabric of PNG society by infiltrating PNG's political and economic systems through the Asian culture of corrupt business practices.

How long can the sick wait?

ROSA KOIAN | My Land, My Country Blog

TODAY at the clinic I was glad to have special attention.

The doctor was very nice and we talked. I shared about what I witnessed in the clinics and health centres in the last four weeks in Port Moresby, Bereina, Kwikila and Hula.

Patients were turned away or prescriptions written for them due to no medicine. I saw sick people in bed, some putting their hand out for ‘quinine’.

I am lost for words when I visit one sick in Port Moresby. She is already tired of being sent to the pharmacy. Too weak to sit up she didn’t want to say any more.

The big question for me as I lay in bed trying to get well myself is how many people like my sisters in Baruni and Kamali in Rigo are giving up on life just because our health system continues to fail them – the sick.

Drug company boss knighted while govt ‘chose’ to be ripped off

SIR MEKERE MORAUTA

I WAS shocked to read in The National on Friday that Martin Poh [pictured] of Borneo Pacific Pharmaceuticals had publicly celebrated an apparent knighthood before the award had been announced by Buckingham Palace or by the Office of the Papua New Guinea Governor-General.

The article was headlined: ‘Kidney Foundation Star to be Knighted’.

Every rule of Palace and Government protocol has been broken here. It just goes to show that knighthoods in Papua New Guinea have become very cheap commodities.

Although I welcomed the report and the work of the Kidney Foundation, and recognise the urgent need for affordable dialysis treatment, people should not forget the history of the contract for the supply of drugs that was awarded to Borneo Pacific in 2013.

Borneo Pacific did not meet the requirements set for the tender, so their political friends in power instructed that the terms of the tender be changed mid-stream.

Health spending slashed as PNG crisis gets worse, says Morauta

SIR MEKERE MORAUTA | Edited extracts

PRIME minister Peter O’Neill has slashed health spending for the past three years, despite promises that he would protect it and other essential services from his cuts.

We have now reached the point where his corruption, waste and mismanagement threaten to bring the entire health system crashing down around us.

The past two years have been bad enough, with medicines running out across the country, health facilities lacking essential equipment and in a state of disrepair, health workers not being paid properly, and many other indicators of system failure.

The prime minister likes to boast about his free health care policy, but if people cannot get timely and appropriate treatment, or no treatment at all, then it is a waste of money.

Concern as PNG moves to launch new coal mining industry

CATHERINE WILSON | Mongabay

THE Papua New Guinea government is actively pursuing the potential of developing a coal mining industry for the first time in the country’s history.

Two years ago, it channelled K10 million to its Mineral Resources Authority for research into the viability of coal extraction.

Now, an Australian company engaged in exploration is proposing to build three mixed coal power generation plants in the cities of Port Moresby, Lae and Madang, citing the need for affordable and reliable electricity to boost economic growth.

Alternative ways of earning income help protect Madang Lagoon

STEVEN GIMBO

THE World Wildlife Foundation says Madang Lagoon is overfished and depleting and it is looking at other ways to conserve fish and other marine life while enabling local communities to sustain themselves.

According to Rebecca Samuel (right), WWF’s marine project officer in Madang, people cannot be stopped from extracting resources unless they are able to develop alternative sources.

“We cannot stop people from using their resources,” Ms Samuel, a marine biologist, said. “Even though we talk about conservation, we cannot ignore the fact that people still need to eat and have money. People will still get from the environment to sell and to eat.”

Ms Samuel said this is the reason behind WWF’s introduction of the financial inclusion part of its Alternative Livelihood Project: to reduce pressure on marine resources while people are encouraged towards other means of sustaining themselves.

Our chronic & unalterable embrace of drugs that can harm

CHRIS OVERLAND

THE history of alcohol consumption, and other psycho-active drugs, amongst humans goes back at least 10,000 years, probably longer. So too do the problems associated with their abuse.

In the case of Papua New Guinea, until quite recently the substance most abused was buai (betel nut) but its effects were, so far as I could tell, fairly muted.

Now, exposure to the wider world has brought with it a wider range of much more potent and dangerous choices.

The colonial regime in PNG for a long time worked hard to prevent Papua New Guineans having access to alcohol. Eventually, this prohibition was attacked and overturned on the basis that it was a denial of their human rights.

Liquor is not the main cause of PNG’s social problems

PHILLIP KAI MORRE

THE liquor ban imposed in some parts of Papua New Guinea is not a solution, instead it contributes to more social problems in our society.

Authorities  are not getting  professional and prudent advice from specialists before these banning decisions are made  .

Today’s young people are going through a difficult period of adjustment and are confused and disoriented in the midst of rapid social changes where traditional community rules, cultural values and norms that control behaviour no longer exist.

Major challenges but PNG makes big strides against malaria

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION

IT WOULD be tough to find a location more hospitable to the spread of malaria than Papua New Guinea.

“This country has very, very difficult geography, with little infrastructure,” said Tim Freeman, a logistician for Rotarians Against Malaria.

At 61, Freeman has spent more than half of his life fighting malaria. He is the kind of guy you want nearby if your car gets stuck in the mud, which he has seen happen a lot while overseeing the distribution of more than five million insecticide-treated mosquito nets in PNG.

Even now, many villages have no roads and the delivery of nets can require an airplane, helicopter, boat, truck and days of walking – often in the rain.

Plenty more work needed to correct SABL injustices

EFFREY DADEMO | Act Now

THE Papua New Guinea government still has plenty of work to do to redress the injustice of the SABL land grab and illegal logging.

Act Now is cautiously optimistic the government is moving in the right direction by cancelling the SABL leases, but this is only a first step.

We welcome statements from the Minister for Lands that the government has cancelled all SABL leases; if it is true, it is a significant move.

However, after nearly four years of delay, there are other vitally important steps that still have to be taken to ensure justice for rural communities.

Influenza pandemic: Is PNG ready for the ‘Big One’?

PAUL OATES

HEIGHTENED awareness of the oncoming influenza season in Australia raises questions about whether Papua New Guinea is ready for a predicted severe flu epidemic.

This year a single injection offering some protection against four strains of flu is being offered to the Australian population based on flu varieties currently circulating in the Northern Hemisphere.

So what is the difference between the common cold and influenza? Most people when they catch a cold should rest and drink plenty of water.

There are 200 or more viruses that can cause a cold. These viruses infect a person’s upper respiratory tract and are often grouped under the acronym, URTI.

Dealing with gender-based violence in our changing society

PHILLIP KAI MORRE

GENDER-based violence in Papua New Guinea has increased over the years with dire physical, psychological, social and economic consequences and serious human rights implications.

Research and findings by government and non-government organisations point to the fact that gender-based violence is an epidemic affecting thousands of people, especially women and children.

In the patriarchal structure of Melanesian society we view women as a passive and weaker class who must be submissive to husbands, brothers and fathers and who cannot operate or live independently.

Churches demand Manus Island asylum seekers be evacuated

THE GUARDIAN | With Australian Associated Press

CHURCHES and refugee advocates are calling for asylum seekers on Manus Island to be evacuated to Australia after shots were fired when local men tried to storm the facility.

The Human Rights Law Centre, the Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce and Amnesty International have said the shooting incident on Friday shows the centre is not safe and the refugees and asylum seekers detained there must be removed to Australia while resettlement in the US progresses.

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force issued a statement on Saturday saying that the incident was triggered by a disagreement over the use of a football field on the naval base that surrounds the Australian-run camp.

“The asylum seeker residents are supposed to vacate the oval at 6pm daily, and it is alleged that when they were asked to do so to enable dependents of the base to play on the oval, some of them refused,” a statement from the military’s chief of staff says.

PNG medical supplies contract comes under proper oversight

LAWRENCE STEPHENS | Transparency International PNG

TRANSPARENCY International PNG (TIPNG) has welcomed the announcement by the Central Supply and Tenders Board chairman, Dr Ken Ngangan, that the medical supplies contract will be subject to the results of a public tender.

“It is not easy for the public service to follow procedures established to protect the interests of the people and the rights of qualified suppliers to compete fairly to provide goods and services," said Mr Stephens.

Since 2013, TIPNG - through its Community Coalition Against Corruption - consistently asked for an investigation into the award of the contract to Borneo Pacific Pharmaceuticals after tendering rules were changed and the company was awarded a contract which cost the people of PNG nearly K100 million.

It's tough road for cancer patients in PNG's health system

PAEOPE OVASURU

ALL forms of cancer can have a lasting effect on families and relatives of the victims.

In Papua New Guinea, cancer cases are increasing and many families struggle to take care of their loved ones.

With no treatment available at the Angau General Hospital cancer unit, many lives have been lost.

The treatment and care of cancer patients is also very costly, and many families who go through this experience are left broken financially and emotionally.

One such is the family of the late Hore Avara (pictured), a cervical cancer patient who passed away on 15 March., Through their sorrow and pain, her family has decided to speak about their experiences, to share with others who have had similar experiences and help those in the same situation.

There are many ways in which a man may be broken

KEVIN PONDIKOU

I WAS woken from my afternoon slumber by a phone call.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have been tempted not to answer.

But it was my duty and I did not know it would break me later in that way a man can be broken.

Sister Philo in Matkomnai talked about a nine-year old child with neck stiffness. She was worried about meningitis and wanted to treat the patient with CMP because she didn't have any Ceftriaxone.

Violence engendered on Manus Island cannot be ignored

MICHELLE NAYAHAMUI ROONEY | Dev Policy Blog

IN THE joint communique for the 25th Ministerial Forum between Australia and Papua New Guinea held in March 2017, Foreign Ministers Rimbink Pato and Julie Bishop welcomed collaboration as they prepare to close the Regional Processing Centre on Manus Island.

However, Manus Island will continue to complicate the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

One outcome of the centre that does not appear to be on this ministerial agenda, but is of significant interest in the bilateral relationship, is the contradiction between the Manus Island Centre and the ministers’ commitments to address the rife problems of violence, security and gendered violence in PNG.

PNG paradoxes: mineral wealth, foreign aid & gender violence

MICHAEL KOZIOL | Fairfax Media

IT STARTS at the boarding lounge in Brisbane. Men: white, middle-aged, dull. They flash their passports: German, British, Australian.

On the plane they brandish paraphernalia for various mining companies: oil, gas, maybe gold. A New Zealander is going to spend two weeks fixing wells at petrol stations. Fly in, fly out. Quickly.

Papua New Guinea isn't a place you necessarily want to linger. Its capital, Port Moresby, ranks among the most dangerous and least liveable cities in the world. Tribal fighting and sexual violence against children mar the provinces. In some areas, women accused of witchcraft are still bashed or burnt alive.

PNG government taking steps to stop child labour, says ILO

RNZI

THE International Labour Organisation says the Papua New Guinean government is making inroads into the problem of child labour.

About one-fifth of PNG children aged 10 to 14 years, and almost one-third of children aged 14 or over, are believed to be economically active.

Studies have found child labour, including its worst forms - child trafficking, child prostitution, use of children for the production and sale of drugs and hazardous child labour - are extensive in PNG.

The director of the ILO's Pacific regional office, Donglin Li, visited PNG this month as the government launched its national action plan to eliminate child labour.

Bougainville will pursue Rio Tinto over environmental damage

KEITH JACKSON

BOUGAINVILLE president John Momis has told Radio New Zealand International that his government is proceeding with legal action against mining giant Rio Tinto over environmental destruction caused by the Panguna mine.

Until last year when it relinquished its shares, Rio Tinto was the majority owner of Bougainville Copper Ltd which ran the mine for 20 years before it was abandoned during the civil war.

Rio Tinto controversially handed its BCL shares to the Papua New Guinea and Bougainville governments and indicated it has no intention to clean up environmental damage caused by its mining.

Plenty of good water; the problem is getting it from source

BAKA BINA

AS a kid, it was my mandated task to ensure that we had water in the house at all time.

So every day, every afternoon, I made sure the two containers in the house were kept filled, I task I continued until I left to go to study Grade 11 outside the province.

The water collection was a 20-minute chore and I loved it. It was a noble task for me as I did not want my mother to look for water after a hard day at the garden.

I grew up without clean water. I replaced the water each day and we never had stale water.

Rabaul manager's wild excuses after felling of historic trees

CARMELLA GWARE | Loop PNG

THE recent felling of trees along the Malaguna Road in Rabaul, East New Britain, has angered many of the province’s long term residents.

It is believed that the historical shade trees were chopped down to make way for power lines.

Among those who have raised their voices against the ‘outrageous’ exercise was Rabaul Historical Society secretary, Susan McGrade.

A frustrated Ms McGrade told Loop PNG that the shade trees had “survived many, many eruptions”.

“There was absolutely no reason to remove the trees altogether,” she said.

PNG one of world’s worst countries for access to clean water

WATER-AID | Edited extracts

ACROSS the world 663 million people still do not have access to water; the vast majority of them - over half a billion - live in rural areas.

Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and Mozambique are among the worst performing countries in the world for rural access to clean water.

In PNG, over two thirds of the rural population – 67% - live without access to clean water, while Madagascar and Mozambique follow closely behind, with 65% and 63% of their rural populations without clean water, respectively.

47,000 HIV infections in PNG concerns UN AIDS agency

JOHNNY BLADES | Dateline Pacific RNZI

ACCORDING to the United Nations, the latest statistics in Papua New Guinea estimate that almost 47,000 people are infected with HIV in a country whose population is about eight million. UNAIDS' country director Stuart Watson (pictured) says that there's been an increase of 10,000 of people with HIV in the past two years. He spoke to Johnny Blades

STUART WATSON: In 2015 we estimated that the prevalence in the population was 0.7%. Just last week we completed the most recent estimations and projections for the epidemic in Papua New Guinea and we're now at 0.91%.

So contrary to the trends in many parts of the world, unfortunately in PNG, which has roughly 95% of the epidemic burden in the Pacific region, is trending in the wrong direction. So in PNG, those figures translate into just under 47,000 people living with HIV; roughly 3,000 new infections in the last year, of which nearly a quarter were children and youths. So it's definitely not a good situation.

PNG's Torres Strait people are now in horror straits

MARTYN NAMORONG

COMMUNITIES in the South Fly District of Papua New Guinea’s Western Province are suffering from a leadership vacuum created by the lack of political leadership according Jamie Namorong, a prominent community leader from Malam village in the Trans-Fly.

Jamie Namorong stated that the lack of political leadership coupled with geographical challenges has led to the decline of service delivery in his district.

He said the departure of the PNG Sustainable Development Program from the province has resulted in the decline in mobile communications coverage and many communities that once had access are now cut off from the rest of the world.

Born to try

KEVIN PONDIKOU

THERE are experiences that have built on other experiences that have changed me. I'm not the same man I was when I first arrived here at Rughaz three years ago.

Some memories push me to the edge. Try as I might to suppress them, there are occasions when they spring to life.

During the course of my duties I have seen severely malnourished children and sick children die because they couldn’t access health care in a remote location.

Special ‘lease’ exploitation leads Malmal without land & bereft

QUINTINA NAIME | PNG Loop

THE Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) practice is having a direct impact on the environment and cultural values, says customary landowner Anna Sipona.

Anna comes from Malmal village in East New Britain Province where logging has exploited the environment.

She explained that their forest has disappeared under SABL and the people in her village live as if they don’t own land.

The land in Malmal is under a 99-year lease agreement and the people have been told by the developers that their land is now state land.

It’s Friday night, & Port Moresby General has no bandages

KEITH JACKSON

THERE was something of a crisis at the Port Moresby General Hospital early last Friday night.

The weekend had arrived – not to mention the onset of the usual Friday night procession of smashes, clashes and crashes – and Dr Sam Yockopua, the hospital’s chief of emergency medicine and 18-year public health veteran – was alarmed.

So alarmed, in fact, that he took to Facebook with a public appeal for help.

“SOS call for kind donations,” he wrote. “As at 6:35pm, after supervision of the pm shift work, at POM Gen Emergency Department; we have none of the following….”

Is Australia's detention regime a crime against humanity?

BEN DOHERTY | The Guardian | Extract

AUSTRALIA’S offshore immigration detention regime could constitute a crime against humanity, a petition before the International Criminal Court from a coalition of legal experts has alleged.

On Monday morning, a 108-page legal submission from the Global Legal Action Network (Glan) and the Stanford International Human Rights Clinic was submitted to the court, detailing what the network describes as the “harrowing practices of the Australian state and corporations towards asylum seekers”.

The petition submits the office of the prosecutor of the ICC should open an investigation into possible “crimes against humanity committed by individuals and corporate actors”.

People make selves crazy by cannabis abuse, says drug dealer

NELSON KAIRI

IN Papua New Guinea, it is illegal to cultivate, groom, store, consume and trade marijuana.

Marijuana, or cannabis, is the main illegal drug produced and consumed in large amounts in PNG. It is cultivated for private use and for sale locally and overseas. Reports suggest it is also bartered for weapons.

Medical research show the effects of smoking marijuana fade quickly, but the drug can be detected in the body for weeks, sometimes longer. It depends on how often it is used or how much the user has consumed.

The most common effect upon a user is that, as a result of prolonged use, it alters the mind.

Obesity & its impact on deaths from lifestyle diseases in PNG

NELSON HAMISH KAIRI

THE Papua New Guinea government must get serious about decreasing the number of deaths caused by lifestyle diseases, according to a researcher.

Scientist Andrew Pus conducted research on obesity in Port Moresby and his findings have been made public on the Scientific Research Publishing website.

Mr Pus is from the Western Highlands and holds a master’s degree in health sciences from the Graduate School of Bio-Medical and Health Sciences at Hiroshima University in Japan. His research spanned more than three years and was conducted as part of his graduate requirement.

Obesity accounts for an estimated 2.8 million deaths worldwide and is the fifth leading risk for death according to recent data from the World Health Organisation.

Manus asylum seeker escapes - now seeks asylum in Fiji

MICHAEL GORDON | Fairfax Media

AFTER fleeing Manus Island, a young Iranian refugee has made a desperate plea for asylum on the grounds he fears persecution if he goes back to Papua New Guinea.

"This is the end for me," said Loghman Sawari, whose time in PNG has been punctuated by beatings, bullying, imprisonment, illness, suicide attempts and living on the street in Lae, one of the country's most dangerous cities.

The 21-year-old Ahwazi Arab managed to board a plane under a false name after he said he was threatened by a PNG immigration official and lost hope of being resettled in the United States under President Donald Trump.

HIV/AIDS stigma remains a challenge to PNG churches

RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL

A CHRISTIAN leader in Papua New Guinea says the country's churches need to overcome discrimination and stigma to make a real difference in combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

PNG has extremely high rates of the virus, with a prevalence rate of about 0.5%, according to a 2013 UN AIDS report.

Andrew Hama, from the PNG Christian Leaders Alliance on HIV/AIDS, is organising a summit in March with the country's churches, government and NGOs to try and coordinate their response.

Churches play a key role in healthcare and education in Papua New Guinea, and Mr Hama said they are key to helping combat the virus.

PNG government continues to fail on rights, says watchdog

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | Edited extracts

THE Papua New Guinean government has failed to adequately address gender inequality, violence, corruption or excessive use of force by police, says the global NGO Human Rights Watch in its 2017 World Report.

In May 2016, Papua New Guinea’s human rights record came under detailed scrutiny during its periodic review at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

A month later, police opened fire on protesting university students in Port Moresby, wounding 23 people. The protesters had attempted a march to the national parliament to call for a vote of no confidence in the government of prime minister Peter O’Neill.

Sheer greed is driving PNG’s unique species to extinction

KEITH JACKSON

FIVE species of marsupials, an echidna, three bats and several rodents face extinction in Papua New Guinea and have been classified as critically endangered on the ‘red list’ of threatened species published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

And the main reason? Well, let’s say ‘greed’.

Diplomatically, IUCN says it’s due to “deforestation contributing to habitat loss and consequent population dwindling”.

Yeah, greed.

A year of multitude blessings for Simbu Children Foundation

FRANCIS NII

PATIENCE and perseverance are truly the keys to success in whatever we want to achieve.

This proved true for the Simbu Children Foundation this year when it was smothered with an unprecedented level of support in its charity work serving the sick and disadvantaged children of Simbu.

During its ninth annual fundraising ball last Saturday at the Mt Wilhelm Tourist Hotel, SCF was presented with no less than two motor vehicles.

The first is a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser station wagon fully kitted out with mobile medical facilities worth at K190, 000 by Digicel Foundation.

The second is a Land Rover which was donated by Kennedy Wemin, CEO of Melanesian Trustee Services Limited and long-serving SCF patron.

Forgotten – the vulnerable populations of Papua New Guinea

ESTHER LAVU & CHRIS BANGA | National Research Institute | Edited extracts

EVERY year on 11 July is World Population Day. This year it marked the recognition of vulnerable populations in an emergency context.

A population affected by emergencies - wars, natural disasters or social problems - faces higher risks of disease, violence, hunger and homelessness, the devastating effects of which lead to a shift from normal lives to challenging conditions.

Vulnerability can also come about as a natural and unavoidable part of life or it can be created and sustained by social arrangements.

Addressing women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in PNG

SR MANASSEH KELLY

Extract from ‘Women’s Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS: The Papua New Guinea Situation’, a master’s degree thesis for Flinders University by Sr Manasseh Ola Kelly. You can read the full paper here:  Download 'Women’s Vulnerability to HIV AIDS in PNG' by Manasseh Kelly

FROM my experience as a nursing sister for 16 years in Papua New Guinea, I have observed and witnessed that poverty is a fact for most young girls and they engage in sex so that they can put food on the table.

I asked one of the sex workers why she was involved in the sex trades in spite of high increase in HIV/AIDS in PNG in 2008. Her answer was (“are you willing to put money into my pocket and willing to meet my daily needs”).

Making Port Moresby public transport safe for women & girls

UN Women

FOR women, getting on a bus in Port Moresby meant an almost guaranteed experience of violence or harassment.

A scoping study conducted by UN Women in 2014 found that more than 90% of women and girls experienced some form of violence when accessing public transport - on buses, at bus stops, walking to and from stops, or in taxis.

This included verbal sexual remarks, inappropriate touching, and indecent exposure in terms of sexual violence, and also extortion, robbery, threats or intimidation.

Rich nations play hard ball on impacts of climate change

ROKOTAMANA VITINAQAILEVU in Marrakech

THOSE countries most vulnerable to climate change, such as those in the Pacific islands, will not be able to reverse the terrible impacts nor recoup the loss experienced.

That’s why the Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage associated with climate change impacts (WIM) was mooted in 2013.

This year, at the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) in Marrakech, Morocco, it is clear that more evidence and research is still required on the loss and damage faced by many countries as a result of climate change impacts.

But, in a pre-emptive move, the developed countries once again downplayed the scientific evidence to stall the negotiation process.

Pacific states say world must accelerate climate change support

ROKOTAMANA VITINAQAILEVU | In Morocco at the climate change conference

DEVELOPED countries have committed $100 billion a year to build resilience, adaptation and capacity in developing countries to combat climate change.

This further increase by 2020 was agreed during the COP 21 climate talks in Paris in 2015 and was followed up with the presentation of a ‘roadmap’ last month as another clear signal of commitment to climate action support for developing countries.

It is welcome news to smaller developing countries whose opportunities to achieve development objectives have been compromised through the unsustainable activities of developed countries.

Nothing to fear but fear itself? Try telling that to PNG women

PHIL FITZPATRICK

I’M AN old white male who lives in a stable and prosperous country and I’m afraid of nothing.

That is, I have no special fears that keep me awake at night.

There are things that bother me. The aches and pains of getting old, the future of my grandchildren, the increasing cost of living, that sort of thing.

But nothing that creates any sense of panic or great foreboding.

I know my ancestors lived with real fears, perhaps even my parents did, but I seem to have lobbed into a blessed fear-free time zone.

Chinese doctors put lives on line to help PNG health crisis

ZHANG XIAOJUN & MATT BURGESS | Xinhua

IT IS early May and 48-year-old Chinese doctor Zhang Jinsong can barely walk, leaning against the stair railing of his Papua New Guinean apartment. He is battling a high fever, body aches and swollen eyes.

But those ills are not stopping him from treating the local patients.

"We will risk our lives to help them," Zhang said.

Zhang is the leader of the latest two-year rotation of China's medical team providing assistance to Papua New Guinea's health system forged under a bilateral agreement signed in 2002.

The new generation of sons: May they be strong & good

MARLENE DEE GRAY POTOURA

I READ the article by Phil Fitzpatrick in PNG Attitude on how the wonderful hard working and industrious women in Papua New Guinea are mistreated but may one day be in power.

Phil sounded like he lives on my street at 4 Mile in Lae and sees the struggles of the women who sit on the roadside selling their wares while their lazy, bossy husbands dropping by bludging money off them to drown themselves in homebrew and rolled joints.

The result? They make fools of themselves on the roadside. Grotesque froth covered faces, uttering squawks and gibberish, running like fools on the road, swearing like stupids and cussing the mothers who are struggling to sell their wares to put food on the evening plates.

Jimmy Drekore honoured with 'Nobel Prize for children'

FRANCIS NII

JIMMY DREKORE, founder of Simbu Children Foundation, has been awarded what has been termed the 'Nobel Prize for Child Advocates'.

The World of Children Award is the highest recognition for people who contributed exceptionally to the betterment of children and Papua New Guinea is the first country in the Pacific to receive this global accolade.

Jimmy Drekore is well known to PNG Attitude readers as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and an established poet.

As well as his vital work with the Simbu Children Foundation, he is PNG’s Digicel Man of Honour and President of Simbu Writers Association.

He comes from the rugged mountains of Giu-Emmai in the Sinasina Yongomugl District of Simbu Province and this internationally honour reflects his commitment to improving the lives of sick, orphaned and otherwise disadvantaged children in Simbu over the last 12 years.

Revisiting the home of the world’s first climate refugees

JOHNNY BLADES

IT TOOK over two years to track her down. When she finally replied to my email, Raroteone Tefuarani was more than happy to take a call and chat about her home in the Takuu atoll group, also known as Mortlock Islands.

I assumed it had taken this long because of Takuu's remoteness - the atoll chain is 240 kilometres north-east of Bougainville Island, a far flung outlier within Papua New Guinea.

In fact, Ms Tefuarani was now based in PNG's capital Port Moresby. Like most natives of Takuu - or Mortlock Islanders as they are called - she has left to live somewhere else.

"There are no young people on the island now," she told me. "Only the old people are back home."

Paul Pavol, forest defender, wins US environmental award

SEBASTIEN MALO | Thomson Reuters Foundation

A VEHICLE parts salesman from Papua New Guinea who became an anti-logging campaigner won a United States environmental award on Thursday which he hopes will raise awareness about his country's environmental policies.

Paul Pavol was awarded the fifth annual Alexander Soros Foundation Award for Environmental and Human Rights Activism for his work in the South Pacific nation north of Australia that is home to the world's third largest tropical rainforest.

New measures to control betel nut consumption in Port Moresby

PNG Today

THE National Capital District Commission is continuing its efforts to maintain a clean city by introducing new measures to regulate the movement of betel nut into the city.

NCDC has approved six new markets in the city to be used for trading betel nut: Waikele, Six Mile, 9 Mile, Koki and Epen’s in Gerehu will be the only locations recognised by the commission.

“Just like alcohol, which is prone to abuse in PNG, betel nut is also abused by irresponsible people who chew and spit wherever they want to,” said Governor Powes Parkop.