About one thousand villagers from Abau District in Papua New Guinea showed up on Saturday 1 October to welcome the Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.
Mr Rudd made a flying visit to the Moreguina Health Centre where he delivered medical supplies and announced a $64 million package of assistance for the health sector in PNG.
'Some 80 per cent of the population in PNG live in rural and very remote areas where health services are poor or non-existent, and they are dying of preventable and treatable diseases,' Mr Rudd said.
'Children in villages are dying from pneumonia and women are dying in childbirth at the rate of five a day in PNG, many of them in rural or remote areas.'
In 2010, only 70 per cent of all aid posts were open and a shortage of drugs and resources limit the operation of the health facilities and outreach patrols. Only 50 per cent of all health facilities have running water to the delivery room.
Mr Rudd said Australia would contribute $40 million to an $80 million Asian Development Bank project which will build 32 new community health posts, refurbish 128 health centres and provide housing for 224 staff.
Each of these rural health facilities centres will have 24-hour running water and electricity, sanitation facilities and critical medical equipment. In-service training will also be provided to community health workers in areas such as maternal health and clinical supervision.
The project will also establish service delivery partnerships with churches and the private sector and improve the skills of health workers in 16 districts across eight provinces in PNG.
In addition, Australia will provide a further $24 million to purchase medical supplies such as vaccines and birthing kits for all 3,000 health centres and aid posts in 2012.
Mr Rudd told the gathering he wanted Australia's contribution to make a real difference.
'What we are trying to do is to boost the health of 1.2 million people in Papua New Guinea who otherwise would have a real problem, and may die. 1.2 million out of this wonderful country of nearly 7 million people. We want to make a difference, and that's why we are here,' Mr Rudd said.
'So what we want to do, as your friends in Australia, is come back here in one year's time to make sure that it is different; that the number of little babies who are dying in childbirth is reduced; to make sure that those who are getting infections very early in their lives is reduced in number and that the number of little babies surviving to the age of five increases. And so next year, one year from now, we are going to have a test to make sure it is happening here on the ground.'
More information
Australia's work in PNG
Supporting health in developing countries
External websites:
Saving PNG lives with better health centres and more medicines
Foreign Minister's remarks at Moreguina Village, Central Province, Papua New Guinea
ADB and partners help PNG boost rural health services