Service delivery, specialized staff and management, infrastructure, funding and the capacity to accommodate patients are some of the major challenges that Laloki Psychiatric Hospital in Port Moresby is currently facing. Laloki hospital, which is a designated Level 6 health facility, is barely operating at the standard level due to the many challenges it is facing. In terms of patient care, drug supply is also a major issue under the service delivery as often times, families of patients are advised by the hospital staff to buy the prescribed medication they need, however, are quite costly. Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Laloki Psychiatric Hospital, Doctor Daoni Esorom, stated that the hospital has been going through a lot of these challenges since the Mental Health Act 2015 was passed in 2015 and certified on the 9th of February 2016. “The hospital has been overlooked in terms of funding and maintenance of the infrastructure and the physical state of the hospital has deteriorated rendering most of the buildings in the hospital to be condemned in which has been declared unfit.” Laloki is the only psychiatric hospital in the country which needs urgent action and a major restructuring of the hospital. According to Dr Daoni, a hospital assessment and survey was done in October last year, where it revealed that Laloki is operating at Level 3; however, is barely operating at that level though it is a designated Level 6 health facility. A total of six areas were assessed and surveyed including Patient Care standards, Leadership and Management standards, Human Resources Management, Management Information Systems, Environment and Mandatory Standards and Performance Improvement. “Out of the survey the total outcome stands at 26% which is a major problem. The total score, which is 26%, is way below 60% whereas 60% is the accepted level of satisfactory National Health Service Standards.” "The hospital needs major restructuring to increase its workforce, major infrastructure improvement and construction of new infrastructure. The urgent actions include, development of a corporate governance framework, development of clinical governance framework, service improvement plan, clinical service plan and a master plan for Laloki.” Meanwhile, Director of Medical Services, Doctor Ludwig Nanawar, stated that drug supplies are a big issue for the patients. Under the National Drug Catalogue, they get most of these specialized drugs from the Area Medical Stores, however, some of the specialized drugs needed are not in the catalogue; therefore, they have to purchase them elsewhere such as pharmacies, and with that is a challenge as it goes back to funding. Funding is an ongoing issue whereas when the hospital is unable to provide the medical drugs, families of patients then purchase the prescribed medication themselves, which is quite expensive and, in most cases, are unable to purchase. “A medical drug that the hospital needs the most is called Benzhexol. This is used to counter the side effects of the medications that we use to treat mental illnesses. However, with the limited supply here, we give written prescriptions for families to buy if they can afford and if not, we just observe them and according to how they react, we give them if we need to with the limited supply we have.” Despite the challenges, Dr Ludwig said that the recovery rate is high as long as the patients take the right amount of dose as instructed by the specialized doctor and taken on time as well. The hospital currently has a total of 54 patients including seven females.

Prime Minister (PM) James Marape has announced a government allocation of K30 million to the University of Goroka (UOG) to rebuild and modernize critical infrastructure that was severely damaged by a devastating earthquake in 2022. The funding is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to improve educational facilities across the country and ensure that Papua New Guinea’s future educators are trained in a safe and conducive learning environment. Speaking at the recent UOG graduation ceremony this week, PM Marape highlighted the importance of the university as a national institution responsible for training teachers, while emphasizing the urgency of restoring its damaged infrastructure. “Today, the government has passed over K30 million for the University of Goroka to repair and complete infrastructure projects that were damaged or delayed due to the earthquake that struck the institution.” The earthquake, which hit parts of the Eastern Highlands Province in 2022, caused significant damage to UOG’s buildings, including student dormitories, lecture halls, and administration offices. Among the projects disrupted by the disaster is the construction of a seven-storey building and a modern auditorium, both of which are critical for accommodating the growing student population. “These funds will help the university complete the seven-storey building and the auditorium currently under construction. We have committed to ensuring these buildings are completed and opened before mid-September this year as part of the nation’s 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations.” PM Marape also revealed that K10 million had already been issued to UOG to begin immediate repairs and restoration work after the earthquake, but a full engineering report indicated that the cost of rebuilding would exceed that initial allocation. “I have asked for a full engineering report on the damage caused by the earthquake. The university has already received K10 million to start restoration work, but it will require much more to fully restore and modernize the campus.” “UOG is an important institution for the country because it trains our future teachers. We must ensure that the learning environment for students is safe, modern, and conducive to quality education.” He further stressed that improving UOG’s facilities is part of the government’s broader vision to enhance the country’s education system, ensuring that future teachers are well-prepared to educate the next generation of Papua New Guineans. “We are not just rebuilding infrastructure; we are investing in the future of our nation’s educators. These students will one day go out and teach the next generation of Papua New Guineans. It is our responsibility to provide them with a world-class learning environment.” In addition to the K30 million allocated for UOG, PM Marape also announced a K3 million allocation for the National Sports Institute (NSI) in Goroka, where the graduation ceremony was held. The funds will be used to give the institute a facelift, including upgrading sports facilities and improving infrastructure for students and athletes. “The National Sports Institute is a vital institution for sports development in Papua New Guinea. We have passed K3 million to give NSI a much-needed facelift. This is part of our ongoing efforts to improve institutions that are important for nation-building.” He concluded by reaffirming the Government’s commitment to supporting educational institutions across the country, ensuring that teachers and students have access to safe, modern, and well-equipped facilities.

The Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST), has confirmed that the Tertiary Education Study Assistance Scheme (TESAS) list for this year 2025, will be made known to the students via the DHERST website. Currently, the internal quality checks need to be done before awarding to the students who are eligible to be under TESAS. According to DHERST, the first-year students who have been selected through the National Online Selections System (NOSS), have already been informed of their statuses whilst the continuing student list should be made available when the TESAS Committee meets. Students’ confidentiality must be maintained; therefore, an official list/announcement will be made through the DHERST Website. An official media statement will be released later during the remainder of the week for further updates.

PNGFM Limited farewelled a total of seven (7) enthusiastic and vibrant youths under the 2024 Urban Youth Employment Project II (UYEP) in which six of them successfully completed their internship program at PNGFM. The youths were farewelled on Friday the 10th of January after completing a 65-day internship program in which they got to experience for the first time working in an organization. With no work experience, the youths were privileged enough to work in the different departments of PNGFM including Sales, IT and Engineering, PNG HAUSBUNG (news department), Total Events Company (TEC), Finance and Admin department. Spokesperson and UYEP youth, Clive Maion, shared sentiments as one of the youths and trainees who was privileged enough to work at PNGFM. “As an unemployed youth, I heard about this project initiative to help youths like me have a purpose in life and with that I decided to apply by filling out a form provided for us by UYEP to have us registered. From there, we were then shortlisted for an interview before carrying out the different training courses.” “The first training was a 5-day course called Champions for Change followed by the second course called Basic Life Training Skills which was carried out for ten days. After successfully completing that part of the training course, we then did a 30-days Civil Works which is just general works carried out in NCD where we did projects like building footpaths, stonewalls and doing cementing.” After successfully completing all three of these training courses, the youths were then eligible for a 65-day internship program where over 300 youths were categorized in different groups and from there, the seven youths from the UYEP intakes of 2024 were selected to work at PNGFM. According to Maion, little did he know how PNGFM operates apart from the obvious which is talking and interacting on air. For each of the interns, they took turns working in each department for two weeks before rotating to the next, from which they gained some fair knowledge. “Working for the first time in an organization was scary, but when we joined PNGFM, we felt like we were one of them (the employees). They treated us equally; taught us well and with that, I have learnt a lot personally as PNGFM made our internship run smoothly since we started in October.” “Now when I decide to apply for a job later, I now have the confidence and a fair knowledge as to working at an organization. This is also good for my reference as it will now add a bonus to my CV and be able to move onto the next chapter.” In addition to this, Maion personally expressed joy working specifically in the Sales, IT and Engineering and in the PNG HAUSBUNG department. His biggest highlight in Sales was learning about how paid advertisements are run on air, which the company earns and makes money from. “As for PNG HAUSBUNG, I got to go out with other reporters from the newsroom to collect stories, do interviews and from there, I had the opportunity to write my own stories which were published on the PNG HAUSBUNG website. “I was privileged enough to go through an opportunity like this, and with that I am grateful to UYEP for this great initiative in giving youths like us a second chance in life and to PNGFM for the great experience in working in an organization.”

Divine Word University (DWU) in Madang province is now preparing for the 2025 Academic Year with registrations to begin on the 3rd-7th of February 2025. President of DWU, Professor Father Philip Gibbs stated that registrations will be carried out for a week whereas for anyone who wishes to register after the scheduled registration dates will be considered a late registration. “There are two sets of payment that students will have to pay to study, and that is the Tuition fees as well as the Board & Lodging fee (for residential students only).” The On-Registration fee which comes under tuition fees, must be paid by all students by the 31st of January 2025 in order to register. Fr Gibbs said that the On-Registration fee is 70% of the full fee cost which is what the students must pay before the deadline. In addition, Fr Gibbs made mention that the non-school leaver list is not yet available at this time, however, it should be posted early next week. Once it is out, the list will be posted on the university’s website. Meanwhile, in terms of TESAS funds, Fr Gibbs confirmed that for last year, the university had received the second semester funds in November and December 2024 which was a total of one million eight hundred and thirteen thousand kina (K1, 813, 000). He added that as for this year, the university will be able to allocate the funds for this year’s first semester once they get the names list from the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST). “Currently, we do not know when we will receive TESAS funds for this year.” To know more information regarding the 2025 Fee Schedule, students can access the DWU website.

Prime Minister James Marape and National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop met this week to initiate discussions on the planning for Papua New Guinea’s 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations and related activities. The meeting is preliminary to a full stakeholders’ meeting to be held on Monday, 6th of January 2025 when PM Marape, Governor Parkop and Minister in charge of National Events, Justin Tkatchenko, meet with representatives from all agencies involved in planning and executing the activities for this milestone event. The Prime Minister stated that he is in discussion with Governor Parkop to have the National Government and the municipal government on the same page in respect to the planning of activities for the 50th anniversary “We also discussed the PNG team to the NRL which we will launch very soon, and we will also draw up an entire program for the year.” He said that planning will comprise major events lining the year and leading into 16th September 2025, which will terminate at the end of the year in December. February will see the launch of the PNG NRL team, which PM Marape said would coincide with major school and youth programs for students and the youth. “We are expecting up to thirty world leaders from all parts of the world to join us. All Pacific leaders have given the indication to join us on 16 September as well.” “August is designated for the churches to hold a big program on revival, reconciliation among our people. On 30th August 2025, is a reconciliation event with those who lost loved ones on Bougainville as a result of Bougainville crisis. This will also involve the police and defence force and will be held in Bougainville.” Furthermore, PM Marape intends to have the PNG Games in Southern Highlands with NCD who has agreed to be on standby as host. “We are, however, fully committed to making Southern Highlands game-ready by September with the games ending by early September so that the athletes can return in time to participate in the 16 September celebrations.” Moreover, he said that the Education Department would also be brought into the planning to align the school calendar with the activities for the year. “It will be a busy year for all of us right through. I ask our people to keep a look out for the announcement and activities coming through.” A full announcement will be made after the stakeholders' meeting next week.

For the month of December 2024, a total of 1,118 deliveries were recorded at the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) Labour Ward. This is as per a media statement from PMGH today. In welcoming the New Year, PMGH Labour Ward delivered a total of 38 babies on New Year’s Eve with a baby boy recorded to have been clocked in the heaviest weighing 4.5kg. As of midday today, New Year babies stood at fourteen babies delivered with more expected to be delivered by the end of the first day of the year, 2025. All births were recorded to be live births and of the fourteen babies, the baby with the heaviest weight was 4.6kg. The total number of babies delivered on New Year's Day will be provided tomorrow.

With the opening round of Pre-Season Challenge matches a little over a month away, NRL.com takes a look at the injury news for all 17 clubs. The Cowboys suffered a cruel double blow just before Christmas with back-rower Heilum Luki and outside back Tom Chester both suffering ACL injuries at training. The Cowboys confirmed that star back-rower Luki would have surgery in January and miss the entire 2025 season. Townsville local Chester has endured a terrible run of injuries in recent years, with an ACL injury also cutting short his season in 2023. Since making his debut in 2022, the outside back has featured in 12 games for North Queensland. Champion forward Jason Taumalolo had surgery in early December to repair a Lisfranc injury suffered playing for Tonga in the Pacific Championships, with a return to play timeline to be determined in January upon his return to training. Storm superstar Cameron Munster believes he will be fit for the Round 1 clash with Parramatta on March 9 at AAMI Park as he continues his recovery from hip surgery. Munster had surgery on both his hips following Melbourne's NRL grand final loss to Penrith and missed Australia's victorious Pacific Championships campaign. The Origin five-eighth is undergoing rehabilitation to strengthen his glutes, groins and hips and won't start running until February. “I’m pretty frustrated. I’ve been inside for a while and I want to be able to get back out there and run, but I’m optimistic," Munster said in early December. "I won’t be able to run until February. I’m doing everything I can to fast track it but [the fitness staff] are not going to push as hard as I want to go.” “I will be ready to go by round one - which is me pencilling myself in. "I’ll be hopefully running and doing full contact by February, hopefully even get a trial game in but we’ll see where we are at.” At the Panthers, champion No.7 Nathan Cleary is racing the clock to be fit for the trip to Las Vegas in Round 1 after off-season shoulder surgery. Cleary sustained the injury in the closing stages of Penrith's Round 24 clash against Melbourne and missed three matches before returning for the opening week of the finals against the Roosters. Hamstring and shoulder injuries restricted Cleary to just 13 games in 2024 but he defied the pain to lead his club to a historic fourth straight premiership. Cleary's teammate Paul Alamoti suffered a suspected dislocated elbow during Tonga's loss to the Kangaroos in the Pacific Championships final in November. Clive Churchill Medal winner Liam Martin was ruled out of Australia's Pacific Championships campaign after succumbing to injuries picked up throughout the NRL season. Martin played through the Panthers' grand final win with shoulder and rib problems revealing after the game he had painkillers every week from Round 4 to cope with the pain from a debilitating shoulder injury. Rabbitohs captain Cameron Murray underwent surgery in November for a wrist injury sustained while in camp with the Kangaroos. Murray suffered the injury during training in the lead-up to Australia's 22-10 defeat of New Zealand in Christchurch, ruling him out of the final against Tonga. South Sydney officials said the operation had been a success. The Test and Origin forward's wrist was immobilised in a cast for a six-week period, after which a rehabilitation program has been implemented. Dally M Medallist Jahrome Hughes (neck) and hooker Jeremy Marshall-King (knee) both missed the Kiwis' Pacific Championships campaign but should be good to go come Round 1. Marshall-King's Dolphins teammate Connelly Lemuelu had a shoulder reconstruction and was looking at a five-month rehabilitation period, which would have him back for the pre-season trials. New Zealand did not select Ronaldo Mulitalo (knee), Dylan Brown (knee), Kieran Foran (ankle), Moses Leota (shoulder), Briton Nikora (ankle), Kayal Iro (hamstring) and Te Maire Martin (neck). Brown suffered a partial ACL tear in Parramatta's final game of 2024 and is being integrated back into full training. He was expected to return to unrestricted training post-Christmas. His Eels teammate J'maine Hopgood isn't expected to resume training until February after undergoing a knee operation. Hopgood, who missed the second half of 2024 with a back injury sustained in Origin I, underwent an arthroscopy to resolve the knee issue that has been hampering him. At the Dragons, star recruit Val Holmes is progressing well and has transitioned into team training after suffering a broken fibula in the Cowboys' semi-final loss to the Sharks. He will be available for the club's first trial. Fullback Tyrell Sloan has suffered a stress injury in his right foot after developing pain whilst training. He is expected to commence rehab running after Christmas and will be available for the club's first trial match. To view the complete NRL Casualty Ward, please visit the hub page.

The National St John Ambulance (NStJA) service today presented certificates to a total of 109 participants who successful took part in the Community First Aid Training organized and hosted by NStJA. The training took place from the 11th to the 17th of December 2024 with a total of seven sessions each that the participants took part in. This is the first of its kind training that NStJA had initiated purposely for both taxi and PMV bus drivers, however, members of the community also showed interest in taking part in training. Manager for Communities Programs of NStJA, Zoe Saulep, said that there was a good turnout of participants who joined to be part of the training, especially from the community members. “Though the training was purposely for both taxi and PMV bus drivers, we didn’t really receive a lot of responses from them, so we decided to include some of the community members as well as some members of the security personnel; that being the police force included.” “As the first of its kind, there is no other organizations that have done something like this and so it was a really good opportunity for the members of the community to be part of it to learn some new skills especially to help people who are in need and when there is an emergency.” In terms of emergency cases such as motor vehicle accidents, or whether a woman is in labor, this training will help equip them with the basic knowledge they need to save another life. "It was a good learning experience for them and also really fun where they were able to interact more, and I hope that we can expand this program to other areas in the years to come.” In addition, with the hope to extend more to other provinces in the future, funding is also important for them to carry out training programs such as this. Meanwhile, Saulep thanked the support of Sir Brian Bell Foundation in making this initiative possible. Apart from this, Saulep mentioned that NStJA have a number of programs that they are also carrying out such as the first aid in school program which has been running since 2018. This has seen a total of more than 10, 000 students across seven provinces in the country that have taken part in this school program. “With more additional support, we’re able to extend the program to other rural parts of Papua New Guinea where first aid is needed because first aid saves life.”

This December 2024 marks the midway point between the 2022 and the 2027 National General Election and Transparency International PNG (TIPNG) is sounding the alarm over the lack of any real action to address the failings of the 2022 National General Election and the many problems experienced in past elections. TIPNG has observed the election process over two decades and the verdict is the management and conduct of the elections is severely flawed and has witnessed significant failures in all stages of the election process from preparation, conduct, delivery, and declaration. Key issues identified by TIPNG in 2022 included glaring inaccuracies and anomalies in the electoral roll, a lack of enforcement against election offenses, non-adherence with constitutional requirements, constant disruptions during ballot counting, chaos during the declaration of certain seats, widespread election-related violence and the proliferation of guns. The National Parliament had established the Special Parliamentary Committee on the 2022 General Elections (SPCGE) to investigate and report its findings to improve the conduct of elections. The Committee’s report, which was presented by Chairman Governor, Allan Bird to Parliament in December 2023, outlined seventy (70) recommendations which still need to be debated and adopted in Parliament by all sitting Members of Parliament. TIPNG Board Chair, Peter Aitsi, stated that there is a five-year electoral planning cycle, and it must be adequately supported year on year. He also said that the issues of 2022 cannot be resolved with last minute fixes. “We are now two years away from 2027 and what are we doing to protect and rebuild this crucial democratic pillar?” “What is the Electoral Commissioner and the Government going to do? The numerous problems we faced in 2022 elections and past elections should be a wake-up call for our nation’s leaders and administrators, we need genuine and serious action now.” As an indication of the apparent lack of priority, the recently approved 2025 National Budget which is two years before the 2027 National General Election, shows that the PNGEC's allocated funding is only K15.6 million. This underscores TI’s concern as the Electoral Commission is still not being allocated the essential resources it needs in non-election years to adequately prepare for the upcoming election. According to TIPNG, this lack of funding will undermine the Electoral Commission’s preparations and presents a serious threat to the integrity and effectiveness of the 2027 elections. In addition to this, TIPNG has now called on all Members of Parliament to prioritize the immediate adoption of the recommendations in the Special Parliamentary Report on the 2022 National General Elections and to ensure the allocation of appropriate levels of funding as per the electoral cycle to enable required preparations and any reforms to be carried out in time.

ANZ Bank has urged all customers to be aware of scams, as cyber criminals find ways to take advantage of the festive season. ANZ Country Head, Papua New Guinea, Lachlan Halstead stated that the Banks work around the clock to help protect customers from fraud, but scammers don't take a break over Christmas, so PNG communities should remain vigilant. “Scammers will target and prey on people's generosity and vulnerabilities during the festive season.” “They may use a range of tactics to trick people into providing their personal or banking details including digital e-cards from someone you don't know, phishing emails promising Christmas sales, fake travel and holiday deals across social media and online donations to fake charities.” He also stressed that it is important that those living and working in Papua New Guinea know how to identify and protect themselves from scams and be cautious when sharing any personal details online. “Take the steps to protect yourself and your loved ones to enjoy a cyber safe Christmas.” Simple tips to stay scam safe: Protect your personal information: Use strong passwords and never share your PIN or passwords with anyone. Enable two-factor authentication on any online accounts and update your social media privacy settings. Be wary of enticing offers: If something is too good to be true, it probably is. You should be cautious of deals that place a time pressure on you to purchase or urging you to buy now. Be cautious of new online stores: Watch out for new online stores with extremely low prices. Don't rush your decision and check the legitimacy of the website through online reviews. Check the website's registration date using the ICANN Lookup search; if it was recently registered, it might be a scam. Don't click on unexpected or unusual links: Never click on links sent via text, email or pop-up messages on social media, they might lead you to a phishing website. Scam sites often have very similar URLs to official sites - check for dashes, symbols or typos in the URL. Inspect items in person: Whenever possible, physically check items before purchasing. Seeing an item in person significantly reduces the risk of falling for a scam.

Rabaul District in East New Britain (ENB) province, recently launched an SME website and an Economic Empowerment Program which is an initiative aimed at supporting local SMEs in the district to market and reach their target customers. Member for Rabaul, Dr. Allan Marat launched the website recently at the District Headquarters, Kurakakaul during the opening of the District Education Resource Centre. The Empowerment program aims to support small businesses in the four Local Level Governments (LLGs) in the district itself by supporting them financially with a portion of fund upon presentation of certain requirements such as IPA registration, legitimate ID Card, verification letter from ward member and other important documents. When commending the district administration and its commerce sector, Dr. Allan Marat said that the SME website launching is a significant milestone for the district as it could be the first in the province. “There is an increase in economic pressures in our society, unlimited wants are more than the already scares resources, and such initiatives will contribute to addressing these economic issues.” Meantime, whilst giving a brief on the district SME website and economic empowerment program, District Commerce Officer, Ian Andy highlighted that the website would assist local SMEs to market their products to a wider audience. He further said that the website will also make it convenient for customers to enquire directly with small local businesses which enhances their SMEs image and gives them the competitive advantage. He also made mention that it is cost-effective and that there is flexibility where details and prices or fees of certain products and services can be updated. “We have just completed updating data on the active local SMEs in the four LLGs of Rabaul District and as soon as all information is confirmed, we will upload, and the website can be accessed by next week.” He added that any small business in the district who wish to advertise on this website can visit the District Commerce Office for assistance.