The Kikori District Development Authority (KDDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with faith-based Non-Government Organization (NGO) Samaritan Aviation Incorporation (SAI) aimed at improving health access for the hard-to-reach population along the districts delta areas, river systems and water ways. Eoe said that the MoU highlights the importance to provide efficient health care and health services for those in the areas not connected by roads or rural airstrips, but only accessed by SAI’s sea planes. “The partnership is focused on KDDA’s five-year funding commitment of a hundred thousand kina per year to support the aviation ministry to set up its operations within the district, and rollout out is services that include emergency life flights, medicine delivery, provide immediate disaster relief and vaccine outreaches in partnership with hospitals, health centers and clinics within the district.” Dr. Cooke expressed his gratitude to KDDA Chairman, Soroi Eoe and his Board Members in acknowledging the need to partner with the aviation ministry in its mission to serve those in need of medical care. “We have already done two surveys in the province this year and plan to begin our rollout services in Kapuna by September working closely with health experts there to begin with our health patrols.” The MoU was signed between KDDA Chairman and Member for Kikori, Soroi Marepo Eoe and Samaritan Aviation Medical Director Dr. Chris Cooke. This signing was witnessed by SAI’s Advisory Board Member Michelle Hau’ofa and KDDA Board Member and Local Level Government (LLG) President for West Kikori Mr. Buara Esega in Port Moresby on Tuesday, 18th April 2023.  

Save the Children is implementing a project with 3 Provincial Health Authorities in East Sepik province, Autonomous Region of Bougainville and Western province. Save the Children’s Safe Children, Healthy Mothers nutrition project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program. 14 solar panels and generators were presented to East Sepik Provincial Health Authority and, 9 to the AROB’s Department of Health recently. The Western Province PHA is yet to receive theirs. Technicians from the East Sepik Provincial Health Authority with Save the Children have been carried out he 220 watts solar panels and generators in health facilities across Ambunti, Drekikier, Wosera, Gawi, Wewak Rural, Kairuru Island, Koil Island and Angoram. They managed to complete the installations earlier this month. Nursing Officer in Charge at Marienberg Health Sub-Centre in Angoram, Sr. Vanessa Kim said the health facility is located along the Sepik River with the biggest challenge being the lack of a lighting system to work on patients during the night. “Many of the patients we see are those that must be treated with the help of medical equipment that use power such as asthma patients who need a nebulizer or pregnant women who give birth in the night.” She thanked Save the Children and the East Sepik PHA for ensuring Marienberg Sub-Health Centre received the solar panels and generator. This will provide lighting to the facility and help them treat patients in the night. Save the Children’s SCHM Project Manager Ronny Inaha explained that a base line assessment conducted in 2021 in East Sepik, Bougainville and Western province and they had identified that many remote health facilities lacked lighting system and officers found it difficult to attend to maternity and emergency cases in the night. “After the baseline assessment we found out that most of these remote health facilities within the communities that we’re implementing our nutrition project didn’t have a lighting system which has made it difficult to treat patients at night.” Apart from Marienberg Sub-Health Centre other facilities that also received solar panels and generators include; Samban Health Center, Tongujamb AidPost, Ambunti SDA Pathfinder Clinic, Avatip Community Health Post, Kunjingini Health Center, Kaugia Health Center, Wombisa Health Center, Gawi (Burui) Health Center, Drekikier Health Center, Bungain Aid Post, Woginara Aid Post, Koil Aid Postand Kairuru Aid Postin East Sepik. Installation work is expected to begin in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and Western province soon. Malnutrition is the underlying cause of half of all under five deaths with almost half of children aged 6-59 months being stunted. Under its Safe Children, Healthy Mothers project, Save the Children is working to reduce malnutrition in 30 communities in ARoB, 25 communities in East Sepik and 35 communities in Western province.

Young Wilchi Paddy Kapin was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma (Cancer in the eye) in his right eye on the 9th February, 2023 at the Port Moresby General Hospital. Retinoblastoma is the second most common cancer in children and it affects children under the age of 5. Wilchi was born a healthy baby and in January at just a year old, his mother noticed that he had something like ‘cats-eye’ so she took him to be examined at St John and then referred to an eye specialist at the Port Moresby General Hospital. This is where WIlchi’s parents were informed that 60% of his right eye was covered by the cancerous tumor. Since he was unable to talk, they weren’t sure at first if he could see through his right eye. Wilchi’s Mother, Normajean Gapi said that he had the first chemotherapy cycle on February 22nd and that went well. “Wilchi was supposed to have another cycle on March 22nd however we were sent home with antibiotics as he had developed fever and flu.” “He had his second cycle a few weeks later, but he has only had 2 of the 3 drugs that he needs.” “The hospital only had one of the drugs and we had to source the second one from a private pharmacy.” Normajean said that they will be hosting a BBQ fundraiser on the the 22nd of April to start raising funds to cover his treatment and logistics. She added that the most children with retinoblastoma have had their eye removed and she doesn’t want that for her son. Once he completes his 6 months treatment, the doctor will give them options on whether to have his eye removed or go overseas for treatment to save his eye. She is hoping they will raise enough so if he does need to go overseas they won’t need to do last minute fundraising. Meanwhile, Paediatrician Dr Benjamin Daur said at the children’s cancer ward at POMGEN, they have about 7 children with retinoblastoma who are currently undergoing treatment. He highlighted that there are 4 stages; • Stage I: The tumor is only in the eye and the cancer can be treated by removing the eye. No cancer cells remain after treatment. •Stage II: The tumor is only in the eye. Cancer cells remain after the eye has been removed, but the cells are so small they only appear under a microscope. • Stage III: The cancer spreads to tissues surrounding the eye socket which causes the eye to swell Or it spreads to lymph nodes in the neck or ear Lymph causing them to swell aswell. • Stage IV: The cancer spreads to other parts of the body. Cancer that spreads may affect the bones or liver or the brain or spinal cord. “Most parents bring their children in when the child is in stage 3 or 4 and thats when we have to remove the eye.” “The chances of the cancer spreading is high when they are in their late stages and we lost children when the cancer spreads to other parts of the body like the brain.” “Children must be brought in early so we can treat them early.” “These children go through treatment for 7-8months inclusive of chemotherapy cycles and surgery.” “Once they (Children) have undone surgery, we ask them to come for review for the next 5yrs so we make sure that the cancer hasn’t come back.” Dr Daur added that shortage of drugs are short at this time as most the drugs have expired and they have had to ask parents to buy from private hospitals and pharmacies while they wait for the hospitals supplies to arrive sometime this month. He further added that POMGEN is able to treat cancers in children but there are some cases where parents want specialist treatment then they are able to do so overseas.

Port Moresby General’s Obstetrics & Gynaecology Division like all provincial and district hospitals around the country will be able to provide proper support to difficult births and save the lives of mothers and newborns. This is thanks to the donation of 35 Vacuum Sets by the United Nations Population Fund Country office recently. 24 hours a day midwives at Port Moresby General Hospital and throughout the country strive to ensure that mothers experience safe deliveries while reducing maternal and newborn deaths. Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Port Moresby General Hospital Professor Glen Mola, welcomed the life saving sets and expressed the importance of having the right equipment available for emergencies. “These instruments are essential to help mothers during labor when they are having difficulties delivering their baby.” “It can save the lives of both the mother and baby.” Professor Glen Mola confirmed that the vacuum sets will be distributed to all provincial and district hospitals throughout PNG starting this week to assist trained health professionals during difficult child deliveries. PNG’s Midwifery Society President Sr. Mary Sitaing shared similar sentiments adding that there has been a shortage of vacuum kits in the country since 2010. “Vacuum extractor sets are very important instruments for health workers, especially in assisting those mothers who cannot have a normal delivery due to complications that are life threatening to both the mother and child’s lives.” “We thank development partners, especially UNFPA for their continuous support to midwives through such supplies.” UNFPA Country Representative Ms. Marielle Sander said the Agency’s commitment to bridge the gaps between availability of medical supplies and equipment to health facilities throughout the country. “Investing in midwives leads to a world where every pregnancy is wanted and every childbirth is safe and this is at the heart of UNFPA’s three transformative results, especially in Papua New Guinea.” “As part of this delivery, Laerdal Global Health (Norway) has provided birthing mannequins to the Midwifery Society so that midwives can keep their life-saving skills up-to-date.” UNFPA has supported this workforce with the equipment and medicines they need to provide the best care to women and girls in PNG.

First day of Term 2 kicked off today with students from Lae Secondary school having an assembly so the school admin can outline what is expected this term. Lae Secondary School Principal, Mr Christopher Raymond said that the turn out for the first day was excellent with only a few students missing the first day. “This term is important for the grades 10 and 12 as this is the last term of assessments for them.” “ Its the last term for them to collect as many marks as they can to go towards their internal marks.” “For the grades 9 and 11s, Term 1 and 2 assessment are put together to make it assessment period 1.” Mr Raymond added that his school has over 2000 student however funding is alright for the school so far. He said that he can’t speak for the other schools in the province in terms of funding. The first quarter of the Government Tuition Fee Subsidy was received at the beginning of Term 1 and the school has been managing it to run the school while they wait for the second quarter of the GTFS to be paid. He said he is not sure when it will paid out to the schools.

Santos will continue to support the 7th season of the Men of Honour Awards worth K25, 000 as the Highlands regional sponsor. The Men of Honour Campaign is a peace building initiative by Digicel PNG Foundation that focuses on positive behavior with the aim to break the cycle of violence in PNG. So far 95 men across the country have been awarded by Men of Honour Campaign for their outstanding work in their communities to build peace and address drivers of violence in their community. Three ambassadors will be selected from each of the regions with on ‘Unsung Hero’ award going to an ambassador from each region. This year will be the third year that Santos has come on board as sponsor for the Men of Honour Awards. Santos PNG Stakeholder Management Senior Vice President, Mr. Wayne Kasou said that it was an easy decision for Santos to continue its support as a sponsor for this season as a company with shared agenda in addressing gender-based violence. ‘’This initiative by Digicel Foundation is important, in terms of creating a platform that recognizes men making a difference in their communities and being role models for other men, women, and children so that everyone can collectively and collaboratively combat gender-based violence in the country.’’ He added that collaboration and partnerships are key to achieving social change in PNG. Meanwhile, Digicel PNG Foundation CEO Serena Sasingian thanked Santos for its continued support with the Men Of Honour Campaign. “Partnership with the private sector is vital to push social change in the country for the better.” “We remain grateful to Santos for its support and commitment in helping us drive our peace-building initiative forward, recognizing ordinary men doing extraordinary work through this platform.’’ The Men Of Honour Awards will be hosted at the Apec Haus in Port Moresby on 3rd May 2023.

Following Anslom’s Love Me Again and I will love you, hitting the airwaves in Europe and the USA a popular Music promoter in Europe has described PNG’s international Artist as the most underated reggae artist. Over the last couple of months, Anslom was named the Artist of the Year on Galaxy 107 FM radio in New Zealand, he did interviews with radio stations in Europe and the USA and performed at the International Indie Music Festival in Kerala, India. Recently, Anslom was nominated for seven International Singer Songwriters Association (ISSA) awards. The ISSA is a platform that honours excellence in individual singer songwriters and musicians worldwide and is based in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States of America. A publicist with Big Records in the Ivory Coast, West Africa, submitted Anslom’s music to ISSA. Big Records is Anslom’s record label. Anslom thanked his record label Big Records and management Bassline PNG for the opportunity. “This is the first time I have been nominated for an international award and I am grateful that it is not only one award but seven awards.” “It would be great to bring the awards to PNG so please get behind me and vote.” Anslom has been nominated for the following 7 ISSA awards: • International Male Vocalist of the Year • International Male Rising Star • International Male Album of the Year (Love Me Again) • International Band of the year • International Male Singer of the Year (I will love you ) • International Male Songwriter of the Year • International Male Emerging Artist Anslom Fans can help Anslom to win by voting for him in each of the nominated categories. Voting is open and runs through to April 30 2023. To vote, follow the link www.ISSAsongwriters.com/2023vote or you can follow Anslom on Facebook and follow the link to vote.

An Australia-funded Leadership Foundation workshop which was held recently in Port Moresby brought together 20 emerging leaders from various law and justice agencies and focused on the role of leadership in addressing anti-corruption. It highlighted the importance of anti-corruption practices, critically analysing real-world scenarios, and providing information and strategies for identifying corruption and how to overcome it. There was a panel discussion that followed which focused on anti-corruption, transparency, good governance, traditional laws and culture and the challenges faced by the country in upholding its Constitution. In attendance to this leadership workshop were Mr Richard Kassman OBE, Board Director of Transparency International Papua New Guinea, Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika GCL KBE CSM OBE; Dame Carol Kidu DBE AO; Mr. Thomas Eluh, Interim Chairman -Independent Commission Against Corruption; and Mr. Wilson Onea, Acting Director Financial Analysis and Supervision Unit -Bank of Papua New Guinea. Mr. Kassman challenged the participants to be courageous in standing up for what is right and be accountable to bringing change to Papua New Guinea. “Don’t wait until you are a prosecutor or a secretary.” “As you go up, you will get bigger challenges and must build a strong foundation now to be more resilient against corruption.” Meanwhile, Mr. Paul Lehmann from the Australian High Commission encouraged the participants to grasp opportunities to learn to be better leaders and achieve greater results. “I hope today we can all learn something as our panelists speak about Leadership and Anti-Corruption.” “Discussions such as these help us to understand the importance of transparency, good governance, and good leadership skills for greater outcomes.” “Understanding these concepts and challenges is vital if the Law and Justice sector is to develop the leadership skills and capacities needed to achieve safety, security, and prosperity for Papua New Guineans.” Mr. Lehmann added that the commitment by the Australian Government under the PNG Australia Partnership to support the Law and Justice sector to develop a sustainable pipeline of professional development opportunities for up-and-coming leaders. So far 39 participants have take part in the Leadership Foundations Program since it started in 2022. The program is run by the Leadership Learning and Development Reference Group (LLDRG) to oversee the law and Justice Sector’s leadership capacity development, the National Coordinating Mechanism (NCM) has created the LLDRG to foster leadership skills of executive leaders, emerging leaders, and women in leadership across the law and justice sector.

The Operation Open Heart Fundraising Dinner has been the major fundraising event for the Operation Open Heart Foundation since 2018. After a 3 year hiatus, a small team of Specialist Doctors from Australia flew in on March 23rd and returned on March 27th, 2023. During this short visit, they conducted open heart surgery on 3 adults and two children. This year’s fundraising dinner will be on 15th of April, 2023 at the APEC House where Australian Singing Sensation Daryl Braithwaite will be performing. Operation Open Heart Foundation Director Corporate Affairs Isabelle Corcoran said that they had set K1M as the target for the fundraiser and so far they have raised K720, 000. “We had a good response from business houses and we have sold 20 tables.” “The funds that we raise go towards the work that the OOH Foundation does.” “That includes hiring of the Doctors and the Nurses that work in the OOH program.” “The funds also go to the support staff, purchasing of equipment that the hospital can procure, transportation for Doctors that go out to the provinces to do screen for heart patients.” Corcoran said that the OOH Foundation also steps in to help patients that are unable to pay for their hospital fees. She said that this fundraiser will help assist the great work that the Operation Open Heart team have been doing for the last 30 years. She added that they don’t have any more fundraising events planned for this year for the Operation Open Heart.

Over 300 employees from National Airports Corporations operations and support services completed Safety Management System (SMS) training. The objective of an SMS is to facilitate the creation of safety culture so that compliance to regulatory requirements happens as a matter of cause. NAC Corporate SMS Manuals has safety and regulatory requirements to ensure quality assurance through embedding organizational safety culture within the NAC as a document holder in the PNG Civil Aviation System. This training is among many initiatives that are undertaken by NAC to reinforce safety as the top priority in our operations. Acting Managing Director and CEO, Mr Joseph Tupiri said that this training is mandatory and requires staff that are directly involved in safety as well support services undergo the training. Delivery of the training involves both theory and practical exercises covering a wide range of areas including, civil aviation rules, the SOPs related to the rules, hazard identification, risk assessment, incident reporting and emergency response. He said that NAC is committed to strengthen their safety culture within the organisation and also across the aviation industry where every employee is proactive in contributing towards implementing safety measures on a daily basis in their line of work. He added that they are on track to have their employees including the Managing Director and executives to undergo this training by the end of the year. The Safety Assurance and Regulatory Compliance (SARC) business unit is rolling this training out across the organization. Safety remains NACs top priority across all of its airports and NAC is committed to ensuring we that they live up to the expectation of the regulator, the Government, the Airlines, the travelling public and their employees.

A staff of Ramu Agri Industries is the Lucky winner of Air Niugini’s return trip tickets picked during the major draw raffle at the end of the 46th National Games Fishing Titles in Lae. The promotion for the raffle ran for a week at the Lae Yacht, giving both the participants of the National Game Fishing titles and the public the chance to participate before the winner was announced. Harry Kaisa won himself two Lae/POM/Singapore return trip tickets after he purchased five raffle tickets for K50 each during the week leading up to the commencement of the National Games Fishing titles. Kaisa tried not to be over excited when he first received the text message to advise him about winning the prize because he thought it was a scam. “However, after getting a call from Air Niugini, I was jumping up and down, had to very quickly relay the good-news to my daughters.” “My daughters, Kymorah is in grade 9 and Herrietta is doing grade 5.” “One of the girls will use the second return ticket while I purchase the third one so that the three of us can go together.” “What a great way for the girls to spend their school holidays.” “We are all excited and cannot wait.” Kaisa has never been to Singapore and was grateful for the free airline tickets. He plans to take a trip during the third term school holiday with his daughters.

Alotau Soccer Associating kicked off their preseason over the long Easter Weekend with over 20 clubs taking part. Week 1 games started on Saturday 08th April and ended on Monday 10th April with Joma leading in Pool A, Gelagela leading the Pool B, KB Wanderers leading Pool C and Yele Footy in the top spot in Pool D. Alotau Soccer Association Vice President, Mr. Jeffery Feeger said they had some wash out games and some teams had to forfeit, but they had a good weekend of soccer. “The draws for week 2 of the preseason is already out for the clubs to prepare themselves for this weekend’s games.” “We don’t have a set date yet for when the proper season will begin, but we are hoping mid-May.” He added that they have updated the results for last week and also the current ladder on the Alotau Soccer Facebook Page. They will be putting up updates on their Facebook page as well for people to see.