October 2019 Newsletter

Latest news from the Incentive Fund

An initiative of the PNG-Australia Partnership to improve service delivery and provide economic opportunities for the people of Papua New Guinea

Singsing in Bosset Community, Western Province for the launch of the Catholic Health Services - Kiunga project, upgrade of the Bosset Sub Health Centre.

Project highlights

On 23 May 2019, Australian High Commissioner Bruce Davis and Governor of Gulf Province Christopher Haiveta MP met at the 70-year old Kapuna Hospital in Gulf Province to launch the start of a project to rebuild the facility. The launch took place in the presence of Dr Lin Calvert, who along with her family has made a major contribution to health services at Kapuna since 1954.

The hospital serves approximately 35,000 people in Gulf Province. Providing quality healthcare in this environment is challenged by geographical remoteness, access to clean running water, and lack of sterile equipment and other vital resources that impact service delivery.

The project will enable the hospital to provide higher-quality healthcare and social services for people in the Purari Delta region, ultimately being more sustainable and meeting the National Health Service Standards for a Level 4 Hospital.

The hospital upgrade will be of particular benefit to women and girls, with approximately 60 per cent of the current hospital services supporting women’s health.

This will increase with upgrades and refurbishments to critical women’s health services, and the implementation of new social services and community initiatives.

It will include a range of critical community health services such as a dental clinic, physiotherapy unit, birthing suits, operating theatres, and new paediatric, accidents and emergency, ICU, obstetrics, gynaecology, and maternity wards, as well additional offices, hospital equipment, staff houses, water systems, kitchens for staff.

On 30th July 2019, Australian High Commissioner Bruce Davis met with Governor Taboi Awi Yoto in Bosset, a remote community in the Middle Fly District of Western Province to officially launch the K9.87 million upgrade of the Bosset Sub Health Centre, delivered through Australia’s Incentive Fund with Catholic Health Services Kiunga.

The Health Centre will expand and improve health care services for approximately 14,000 people in the catchment area. Providing quality healthcare in this environment is challenged by geographical remoteness, access to clean running water, and lack of sterile equipment and other vital resources that impact service delivery.

The project will enable the hospital to provide higher-quality healthcare for the people of Western Province, particularly those who live along the Fly River. Currently those in need of healthcare have to travel 12 hours by boat to reach Kiunga.

Women and girls in the region are at the core of this project, with key outcomes including increased supervised births, antenatal and

postnatal service provision, and significantly reduced risk of maternal and infant mortality, one of the greatest health threats in the province. Communities will also see increased child immunisations.

Construction of new facilities includes inpatient and outpatient wards, procedure/clinical treatment room, a maternity ward, tuberculosis and HIV facilities, a dental clinic, radiology facilities, staff houses, an incinerator, workshop, generator shed and a generator.

Palmalmal Secondary School upgrade opens

On 24th September senior representatives of the PNG-Australia Partnership met in Pomio District, East New Britain, to officially open a project at Palmalmal Secondary School. The upgraded school will provide a much-needed boost to rural education.

Australian High Commissioner, H.E. Bruce Davis, Governor for East New Britain, Hon. Nakikus Konga and Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS and Member for Pomio Hon. Elias Kapavore joined colleagues and friends from the East New Britain Provincial Administration and the Pomio District Development Authority to cut the ribbon and officially open the new facilities.

The K4,500,000 infrastructure upgrade, funded by the PNG-Australia Partnership and the Pomio District Development Authority through the Incentive Fund, provides improved infrastructure and learning resources at Palmalmal Secondary School, benefiting more than 800 students and teachers.

This project has been an excellent example of effective partnerships for development, especially as it marks the first time the PNG-Australia Partnership, through Incentive Fund, has co-funded an investment directly with a DDA.

Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS and Member for Pomio, Hon. Elias Kapavore commented, “This project shows exactly what can be achieved for the benefit of Papua New Guineans when all levels of government and development partners collaborate, particularly in remote areas of the country that can be harder to reach.”

Thanks to this partnership, the school which is in one of Papua New Guinea’s least developed areas, now has eight new classrooms, two new science laboratories equipped with scientific equipment and learning resources and one new ablution block. Australian High Commissioner, Bruce Davis commented, “Since 2000, Australia has contributed more than 227 million Kina to education projects through the Incentive Fund across this vast and diverse country, all unique to the regions they’re in, but all sharing a common goal.”

Girls’ education is a core focus of this project, with activities to promote women and girls in leadership, and advocacy against gender-based violence.

High Commissioner Davis went on to say, “Also common to this goal is the empowerment of women and girls, particularly the education of girls, which is at the core of Australian values, the operations of the Incentive Fund, and this project we are opening here today.”

The PNG-Australia Partnership is committed to supporting education opportunities and access for those in the most remote and hard-to-reach parts of Papua New Guinea, and is proud to open this new infrastructure for Palmalmal Secondary School, another step towards improving quality of education nationally.

Incentive Fund has awarded funding to more than 70 projects across Papua New Guinea since 2000. Phase 4 of the program offers grants from between PGK1 million and PGK10 million and is especially encouraging proposals that:

• Promote economic development opportunities• Expand access to renewable energy and telecommunications services• Involve agriculture and rural development including water and sanitation• Partner with private sector or civil society organisations• Benefit provincial PNG including remote and rural areas.• Specifically empower women and girls• Feature innovative ideas and offer value-for-money.

More About Incentive Fund

Incentive Fund is a PNG-Australia Partnership initiative, managed by Coffey, a Tetra Tech company, on behalf of the

Australian Government

Contact DetailsLevel 2 Comrade Haus, Frangipani Street, Hohola, NCD

PO Box 523, Waigani 131, NCD, PNG

[675] 323 4732

info@incentivefund.org http://incentivefund.org/

Lina Lorry is among one of the first female malaria microscopists in Papua New Guinea, having started as a trainee at the Institute of Medical Research’s Madang campus in 2001. Since then, she has be-come the Section Head of the Malaria Microscopy Unit, contributing immensely to malaria research all over the globe and training new microscopy and science recruits.

Lina loves her work despite the challenge of being a woman working in a male-dominated environment and encourages more women to work in science and technology fields, “My career highlight was to be a role model to other women who are in the similar field that is dominated by men to stand strong and keep moving forward.”

In 2005 the PNG-Australia Partnership through the Incentive Fund, supported the construction of vital infrastructure across the IMR’s Goroka, Madang and Maprik campuses.

This included the construction of a library, research archive, lecture theatre, Operational Research Unit, offices and staff housing, which accommodates researchers like Lina.

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