As the virus spreads the PNG health system collapses

Since I wrote last week about the rising incidence of Covid-19 in our closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, the position has worsened dramatically. Between 50 and 100 new cases are reported daily.

And as I have pointed out the escalation comes despite a very low testing level.

While the virus is being detected in many provinces, including Fly River which adjoins Australia in the Torres Strait, about half the new daily cases are in the nation's overcrowded capital, Port Moresby.

The result already is that the city's public hospital is overcrowded, with other essential services apart from dealing with the virus – including assisting cancer patients and mothers awaiting child birth among them – have been delayed or cancelled.

The PNG Government has finally been forced to lift its game when it comes to addressing the virus – but only in a marginal way. It simply lacks the funds, and the resources – including doctors – to fully respond.

In a country of over eight million people there are just 500 doctors and about 4,000 nurses. Tragically, a significant number of nurses and other health workers have contracted the virus, reducing already inadequate resources.

And the crisis is not just confined to the capital's health system. It is rapidly spreading nationwide including into rural health centres.

The PNG government has said it will have secured around 300,000 vaccines by the end of April. But in a population of over 8 million the impact of that will frankly be inadequate

The crisis has already started to have an impact in Cairns, and the Torres Strait. Cairns hospital has had to impose restrictions on services as it treats at least six fly in fly out workers from the OK Tedi Mine in the Fly River Province. These workers qualified for transportation to Australia because they are domiciled in the Cairns area.

The cascading collapse of the PNG health system is not just a problem for the PNG Government. It presents a significant challenge for Australia.

Clearly Australia's capacity to supply PNG with vaccines is limited – and the promises the government made to deliver the vaccines to the South Pacific may well be difficult to meet at least in the immediate future.

As I wrote last week it cannot be a "vaccines alone" solution.

PNG is desperately short of skilled health workers. And that is a problem for the major population centres as well as rural areas where basic health services are even worse.

The Australian Government needs to assist PNG with the supply of skilled doctors and nurses. It also needs to call on the PNG Government to abandon its corrupt and inefficient supply of medicines which no longer includes Australian suppliers.

Corruption in the health system has been chronicled for years on PNGs robust social media sites. Absolutely zero has been done about it. Too many people of "influence" appallingly benefit from it!

Australia needs to offer to step in with medicines treating any number of diseases and illnesses now endemic in PNG – such as malaria, typhoid and HIV, as well as polio which was once eliminated but has started to return.

The people of Papua New Guinea are largely alert to the significant failures in the health system. They know Australia has had a reduced role for some years with terrible consequences.

The question then arises – how is our added support to be funded?

The answer lies in suspending our existing aid program in all non-essential areas and devoting maximum resources to the health system and the response to the covid virus in particular.

As I wrote last week, some of our aid program should be based out of Cairns to boost the Cairns economy in its real moment of need.

This can include sourcing medicines, and giving aid delivery agencies incentives, out of North Queensland.

Our aid to PNG equates to around $600 million a year, more than enough to make a real impact on fighting the virus and starting to rebuild a run down and declining health system.

Aid money spent on consultants doing reports and on non-urgent areas must be stopped immediately.

The "aid lobby" and elements of the Canberra bureaucracy will strenuously resist interfering with their long-existing cash cow.

Tough luck! There is an urgent need to get our aid program focussed totally on the escalating covid crisis and the collapsing PNG health system.

The Australian public will support this if it is done transparently and in a targeted way.

While delivering vaccines is the main priority it must be accompanied by a serious discussion with the PNG Government on direct intervention to not just rebuild the health system, but to save it from imminent total collapse.

Unless that happens any vaccine program will fall short.

As I wrote last week, the need is urgent. Since then it has simply become even more urgent!