Public health emergency declared

PNG Health Minister, Sasa Zibe, has declared a public health emergency in parts of Morobe affected by cholera and shigella flu. While making the announcement health officials, including the World Health Organisation country representative Dr Eigil Sorensen and Health Secretary Dr Clement Malau, used the opportunity to call for people throughout the country to adhere to simple and basic personal hygiene practices to avoid contracting such diseases.

See -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090910/news01.htm

PNG's Worst City

Where is PNG's worst city? The National Capital of Port Moresby has long had a reputation as being one of the most unlivable cities for expatriates in the world or so it seems if you believe an annual survey conducted and published by The Economist. The last survey rated it as 137 out of 140 cities. However citizens of Lae claim criminals have better weapons and ammunition than the police and security companies. They even have better police uniforms than the police! Goroka along with other major towns has recently suffered days of rioting mainly targeted at Asian operated shops. Even far flung Porgera has been hit by troubles. No town is immune a little over a year ago the only bank in Kerema town was robbed. It was reported as an inside job organised by the entire senior staff together with local criminals. It might just be that every town can claim the prize of being the worst at one time or another.

Long-Beaked Echidna

A research intern working for the Wildlife Conservation Society has completed the first study of a rare egg-laying mammal called the long-beaked echidna. The study consisting of thousands of hours of grueling field work in PNG's Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area took the researcher several years to remotely track the porcupine-sized mammals and record their dens and other signs.

see full story at -- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090609220725.htm

Mobile WiMAX

Alvarion Ltd has been chosen to deploy the first Mobile WiMAX network in the country for Telikom PNG. Bringing services based on Mobile WiMAX to PNG will enable Telikom PNG to give its customers a complete new wireless broadband experience.

Full news item can be found at -- http://apacpartners.alvarion.com/presscenter/pressreleases/184632/

Peace Mediation

A policeman trying to help mediate between two tribes in the Nipa district of the Southern Highlands has ended up fighting for his life in Mendi hospital. The policemen became the meat in the sandwich when one of the tribes turned their anger on him for trying to stop them from fighting the other tribe. The policeman, a father of seven, was taken to the hospital with seven arrows protruding from his body and bleeding heavily from bushknife
wounds to his body.

Police Funding Problems

Over the last ten years the police force has only received between K1 million and K1.5 million for vehicle replacement. With a fleet of over 600 vehicles nationwide most of them are long overdue for replacement and are costing a great deal of money to keep them in good condition. Police Commissioner Gari Baki has admitted that the police traffic division is in a shambles not only in the National Capital of Port Moresby but throughout the country. Many of the vehicles are off the road waiting repair.

Mimimum Wage

A minimum wage determination has been announced by the Chairman of the Minimum Wages Board, Pex Avosa. The minimum wage for a 44 hour week will become K1.14 an hour and after a 40 week transition period this will then move to K2.29 an hour. This equates to just over K200 a fortnight. The board will have the determination gazetted with the dates the changes become effective.

Aussie Rules Football

AFL PNG Profile -- http://afl.com.au/PapuaNewGuinea/tabid/10348/default.aspx
AFL PNG Web Site -- http://www.afl-png.com/

AFL PNG Main Teams
Port Moresby
Dockers
West’s
University Bulldogs
Power
Crows

Lae
NGI Power
Eriku Swans
Lae Bulldogs
University Hawks

Kimbe
Kimbe Offspring
Kimbe Secondary
Town Crows
Town Dockers
Hoskin Tibiusu

The 2008 International Cup held in Melbounre Australia -- http://www.afl.com.au/About/tabid/12174/default.aspx -- was won by an 8 point margin by PNG.

Amelia Earhart

There has been much printed about the disappearance of Amelia Earhart after leaving Lae on the 2nd of July, 1937. Much of it has been generated by an ex-Air Niugini engineer by the name of Dave Billings who has spent many, many years trying to find the elusive wreck.

see the latest article on this subject here -- http://www.aerohub.co.nz/?p=632 -- and some of the other articles here --
http://ameliaearhartandpng.blogspot.com/2008/08/search-for-amelia-earhart-continues-71.html
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/07/dayintech_0702
http://kellyisbetterthanmichelle.blogspot.com/2008/08/amelia-earhart.html
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/03/amelia_earhart_you_have_to_think_like_a.php

Loooking for Tom Pringel

Daniel Dadamu is searching for a PNG friend. They studied together at the Waigani Campus of the University of PNG in 1997-98. The friends name is Tom Pringel. Should anyone have information on his whereabouts please let Daniel know.

He can be contacted using this email address: d_dadamu@yahoo.com.

Thank you very much.

Rice Price

Not only has the price of fuel dropped the price of rice has now dropped by as much as 35 toea a kilogram. Trukai has given its major distributors and wholesalers an 8 per cent reduction in the price of Roots Rice and expects this to be passed on to the end user. Other Trukai brands will also be reduced by as much as 10 per cent.

Baha'i Gathering

A regional conference of 1500 participants recently in Lae made this the biggest gathering of Baha'is in PNG. The conference was one of 41 being held in cities around the world by the Baha'i. Read about the challenges of attending the conference -- http://news.bahai.org/story/689 -- in fact this story would be fairly typical for people attending any conference in PNG.

Kelly's PNG Trip 2009

http://kellypng2009.blogspot.com/2009/01/e-mail-update-2.html

Special Care Nursery

Statistics show the PNG population has almost doubled since independence in 1975 yet the facilities at the Port Moresby General Hospital have virtually remained the same for the Special Care Nursery. The nursery at the hospital was built in the 1960s and is the only such unit in the National Capital District. The Rotary Club of Boroko renovated the nursery in 1972 but little has been done since then to improve the care available to the infants.

The infrastructure may be lacking state-of-the-art facilities and equipment but the nurses and doctors do all possible to ensure the well being of the critically ill babies. Unfortunately sick babies are often discharged to make way for even sicker babies.

The Rotaract Club is planning to build a new state of the art Special Care Nursery at the hospital and hopefully this will begin shortly so more infants can be saved.

Special Care Nursery

Statistics show the PNG population has almost doubled since independence in 1975 yet the facilities at the Port Moresby General Hospital have virtually remained the same for the Special Care Nursery. The nursery at the hospital was built in the 1960s and is the only such unit in the National Capital District. The Rotary Club of Boroko renovated the nursery in 1972 but little has been done since then to improve the care available to the infants.

The infrastructure may be lacking state-of-the-art facilities and equipment but the nurses and doctors do all possible to ensure the well being of the critically ill babies. Unfortunately sick babies are often discharged to make way for even sicker babies.

The Rotaract Club is planning to build a new state of the art Special Care Nursery at the hospital and hopefully this will begin shortly so more infants can be saved.

Victoria Cross

There are only 3 living holders of the Victoria Cross (VC) in Australia. The latest recipient Mark Donaldson joins two others still surviving, the 75 year old Keith Payne VC, and 89 year old Ted Kenna VC, who was awarded his VC for an action in 1945 at Wewak in what was then called New Guinea.

Edward (Ted) Kenna was born at Hamilton, Victoria, on 6 July 1919. On 15 May 1945, Kenna was involved in an action near Wewak, now Papua New Guinea, during which he exposed himself to heavy fire, killing a Japanese machine gun crew and making it possible for his company's attack to succeed. For this he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Three weeks later he was shot in the mouth and spent more than a year in hospital before being discharged from the AIF in December 1946.

Who won the first Australian Victoria Cross on territory administered by Australia? Private T E Kingsbury won his VC on the 29th of August 1942 at Isurava along the Kokoda track. Kingsbury's VC was also the first awarded in the South-West Pacific Area.

UNHCR

Is PNG really such a rough, tough place for expatriate workers? The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) doesn't seem to think so as both the outgoing and incoming representaives for PNG are women. Both have served the United Nations with distinction in some of the major trouble spots around the world, such as Bosnia in the 1990s and the Middle East. The new leader of UNHCR in PNG is Austrian Walpurga Engelbert and Thai citizen Wallaya Pura is the outgoing head.

UNHCR4th floor, ADF Building, Musgrave StreetPort Moresby.Ph : 321 5973/ 321 7422 Fax : 321 5977Email : pngpo@unhcr.org PO Box 1041, Port Moresby, PNG.

Trobriand Islands Troubles

The only rural health centre on the Trobriand Islands has recently been ordered closed by health inspectors.

The centre, serving 32,000 people, was closed for various reasons including the gross contamination of water, a lack of toilet facilities for both patients and health workers, a lack of drugs including intravenous drips, oxygen, painkillers and antibiotics.

PNG Contemporary Art

If you are interested in contemporary PNG Art then visit Pasifik Nau -- http://www.pasifiknau.com -- a recently set up web site. If you are a Melanesian artist and would like to share your own work or publicise an upcoming exhibition etc then visit the site and make contact.

There is even a section devoted to bilum art. (a bilum is a string bag - see -- http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/bilums.html)