High maternal and infant mortality rates is one of the issues NZAID's support to the health sector in Papua New Guinea seeks to address.
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Papua New Guinea
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Snapshot
Papua New Guinea (PNG) lies just north of Australia between Indonesia and Solomon Islands. It has the largest land area and largest population of any Pacific island nation.
PNG is ranked 145th out of 177 countries in the United Nation's Human Development Index, and has the poorest social indicators in the Pacific region. An estimated 37.5 percent of the population live below the national poverty line.
The fundamental development challenges facing PNG are improving governance, generating broad-based growth, improving service delivery, and tackling the growing epidemic of HIV and AIDS. Gender inequality is entrenched in many aspects of PNG society and is a root contributing factor to many development challenges in PNG.
PNG is NZAID's second largest country programme (Solomon Islands is the largest).
NZAID priorities
NZAID signed a joint strategy with the Government of Papua New Guinea in July 2008. This strategy will guide NZAID's Programme in PNG for the next ten years (2008–2018), and addresses some of the key development priorities of the country. The goal of the strategy is to contribute to a just society, free of poverty, through equitable and sustainable social and economic development of PNG and all its people, and is shaped around two strategic outcomes:
- improved social services in education and health
- improved livelihood opportunities for rural people.
NZAID will focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women throughout the programme, and incorporate ways of raising awareness of HIV and AIDS.
NZAID programme highlights
Strategic outcome 1 | Improved social services
Within this outcome, NZAID is involved in the Health Sector Improvement Programme (HSIP), a joint approach between the Government of Papua New Guinea and a number of development partners to build the capacity of the Department of Health, and improve delivery of health services. Specific support is provided to civil society partners to target reproductive health, HIV and AIDS prevention, and community health. The community health projects all involve the training of villagers to serve as primary healthcare providers, and over the years a huge number of volunteers, mostly women, have helped their communities to improve their health and general standards of living.
Strategic outcome 2 | Improved livelihoods opportunities
Over 80 percent of PNG's population live in rural areas, and most of them rely on subsistence agriculture. NZAID is working closely with the Department of Agriculture and Livestock to explore ways to improve rural people's income from the agricultural sector.
NZAID provides support to Bris Kanda, an organisation that aims to build commercially productive partnerships between rural communities and service providers in Morobe province.
Bougainville - an autonomous region
NZAID's engagement in Bougainville focuses on supporting the governance of the autonomous region and strengthening its law and justice system. Through the Bougainville Community Policing Project, New Zealand Police provide training and support to the Bougainville Police Service and Community Auxiliary Police, who help communities deal with law and order problems in consultation with chiefs and traditional leaders.
Civil society
NZAID recognises the role and potential of civil society organisations to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development in PNG. NZAID partners with both New Zealand based and locally established organisations.
Gender equality and the empowerment of women
NZAID is assessing and strengthening the extent to which its work advances gender equality and empowers the women of Papua New Guinea. Opportunities for supporting initiatives that focus specifically on gender issues will be explored during 2009.
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Fred Hollows Foundation