Seizing the moment: Tackling entrenched inequalities to end epidemics

By Winnie Byanyima

Like the HIV epidemic before it, COVID-19 is exploiting the extreme inequalities between countries and within them to take root among disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. I am proud that decades of experience in responding to HIV are being used in the fight against the coronavirus and that activists all over the world are working hard to make sure that the disruption to HIV services is minimized.

But I am also deeply concerned.

Even before the onset of COVID-19, the world was failing in its commitment to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. The UNAIDS new Global Report, Seizing The Moment: tackling entrenched inequalities to tackle epidemics, shows that there were 690,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2019 and 1.7 million new infections—far from the global targets of fewer than 500,000 deaths and 500,000 new infections a year that were set for 2020.

The collective failure to implement and sufficiently invest in comprehensive, rights-based HIV responses has come at a dreadful price. There were 3.5 million more HIV infections and 820,000 more AIDS-related deaths from 2015 to 2020 than the world had aimed to achieve.

This is unacceptable when we have medicines to keep people living with HIV alive and well and an array of prevention tools to stop new infections. We are being held back by entrenched inequalities that put vulnerable and marginalized groups of people at higher risk of becoming infected with HIV and dying of AIDS-related illnesses.

More people are on treatment than ever before. Globally around 25.4 million of the 38 million people living with HIV are accessing life-saving antiretroviral therapy, but 12.6 million people are not.

As ever, it is the most vulnerable who pay the price. Every day, marginalized groups such as gay men, sex workers, transgender people, people who use drugs, prisoners and migrants are prevented from receiving proper health care and are criminalized and marginalized. Denied their right to health, these groups and their sexual partners comprised 62 percent of all new adult infections in 2019.

Meanwhile, women and girls are too often denied their sexual and reproductive health and rights, while gender-based violence and gender inequalities continue to drive the epidemic forward among young women and girls.

It is estimated that globally 243 million women and girls aged 15-49 years have been subjected to sexual and/or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in the past 12 months. months. Meanwhile, we know that women who experience such violence are 1.5 times more likely to acquire HIV than women who have not experienced violence.

All this must change, and we have to act on multiple fronts. In Papua New Guinea for instance, the acute emergency of COVID-19 brought out the many cracks in the system that must be targeted and fundamentally overhauled to create a more user-friendly and survivor-centred GBV response.

Just like HIV, COVID-19 holds up a mirror to the stark inequalities and injustices that run through our societies. The COVID-19 pandemic will also be exacerbated unless we address the human rights impact on vulnerable people and their lack of access to health services, education, protection from violence and social, economic and psychological support.

Successful pandemic responses are grounded in human rights, implement evidence-based programming, and should be fully funded to achieve their targets.

HIV has been slipping down the international agenda for some years. Now, I am calling on leaders to convene a new United Nations High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS next year to address with urgency the outstanding issues that are holding us back from ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

We cannot drop the ball on HIV. The futures of millions of people are at stake.

The UNAIDS 2020 global report is a call to action. It highlights the terrible scale of the HIV epidemic and how it runs along the fault lines of inequalities.

We can and must close the gaps.

Training for Village Record Book Kicks Off in New Ireland

 

New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan launched the new Village Book database

system for the 142 LLG wards in New Ireland on Wednesday, becoming the

first Governor in the country to roll out the project that will be introduced

nationwide in the coming weeks.

Sir J immediately urged all the Ward Recorders in the Province to make it their

business to ensure all relevant data is recorded and updated. “You must fight for

New Ireland and do a complete audit of the people and provide an accurate data

bank the like the whole of New Ireland depends on you alone.”

He cut the ribbon as he launched the Village Record Book database system and

training workshop for Ward Recorders and LLG officials and Councilors on

Tuesday 30 th June kicking off the national drive to establish the data system

established under an MOU signed with the Department of Provincial and Local

Level Government Affairs on the 7 th of February this year.

Among witnesses to the occasion were representatives of the Department of

Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs, the Deputy Governor and

President of Tikana LLG, Hon. Sammy Missen and colleague Presidents from

the Murat and Kavieng Urban Councils, the acting Provincial Administrator and

Director for District and LLG Affairs, Mr. Ricky Fugonto, who spearheaded

and coordinated preparation and New Ireland Government involvement and

funding of the project.

Mr. Fugonto said the Village Record Book is a key Government initiative to

ensure New Ireland Government has a locally developed and managed database

collection system that will generate accurate, reliable and up to date data for

evidence-based development planning, policy formulation, budgeting, resource

allocation and service distribution.

“It is paramount that all Government agencies at all levels of government work

together in ensuring this important government intervention is strengthened and

sustained over a long period of time by sharing resources, expertise and skills,”

said Fugonto.

Governor Sir J’s keynote address stemmed from the heart of ‘Autonomy.’ He

said the Village Record Books would not only help New Ireland but also the

Electoral Commission, which had an appalling track record in updating the

names of all electors during the National and LLG Elections.

 

Sir J said, “Ward members the future of New Ireland will depend on you. The

vision for tomorrow is that we’ve got to decentralize power to the provinces.

We have to make every province autonomous because power is responsibility.

A united Papua New Guinea can only be strong if we recognize individual

rights of our people .The National Government can just concentrate on policy

matters and coordination,” said Sir J.

Sir J thanked the officials from the DPLGA for availing their time for the

training but advised them to tell Waigani that New Ireland is capable of looking

after itself. “ I hope you can bring the message back to Port Moresby and say

why are we not playing around, just let these people govern themselves, and we

just stay back, make good policies for good governance and just coordinate their

projects in the districts.”

In a delightful closing gesture drawing popular applause Sir Julius announced

that the New Ireland Government would Top-Up the Ward Recorders

allowances by another K100 per month bring their monthly total to K200.

 

Department heads sworn into office

Departmental heads and a PNG Head of Mission were officially sworn in at the Government House last week witnessed by Governor General of Papua New Guinea Grand Chief Sir Bob Bofeng Dadae.

 

Sir Bob officiated at the contract of employment signing ceremony for heads of department and agencies also witnessed by senior government officials.

 

Those that signed their contracts include:

·        David Manning - Commissioner of Police & Secretary Department of Police for a period of 4 years from 3^rd December 2019;

·         Stephen Pokanis – Commissioner, Correctional Service of PNG for a period of 4 years;

·         John Akipe – Secretary, Department of Defence for a period of 4 years;

·         David Manau – Secretary, Department of Petroleum & Energy for a period of 4 years;

·         Benjamin Samson – Secretary, Department of Lands & Physical Planning for a period of 4 years;

·         Joe Itaki – Director General, National Youth Development Authority for a period of 4 years; and

·         Moses N. Kaugl – Ambassador, PNG (Japan) Embassy with concurrent accreditation to International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) for a period of 4 years.

 

The appointment of heads of departments and agencies by the National Executive Council have been cleared by the Office of the State Solicitor and gazetted.

 

The employment contract signing ceremony was witnessed by Secretary of Department of Personnel Management Taies Sansan and Foreign Affairs Secretary Barbara Age.

Making K6,000 from K10 in a week

Twenty-one students from the Human Development Institute (HDI) in Port Moresby graduated last Friday.

Among them was Elizabeth Wippon and her daughters.

She was the dux being able to make K6,000 in a week. That was more than the target of K1,000 set.

HDI founder Dr Samuel Tam commonly known as ‘Papa Sam’ by many of the grassroots people in Papua New Guinea revealed that the students also referred to as  praxis at HDI were thought how to start with K10 to make K1000 in a week.

For Elizabeth, she started by buying greens worth K5 each.

She cut them into halves and sold them.

Then she repeated the process which they called “rolling over” for a couple of times and then later she decided to buy garden produce to make K100 dishes.

She sold the dishes through her church contacts. That was how she made  K6000 in less than seven days.

Ten students from the 21 who graduated reached the target of K1000 in a week.

HDI is a training centre that offers empowerment through financial awareness and training to empower Papua New Guineas from the grassroots level up to be viable and live better lives.

There are seven levels of training and development offered by the institution known as Personal Viability Business Scheme. The graduates were from the second level of training.

Papa Sam said: “The use of money is what HDI calls business-class-knowledge, which is experiential knowledge in the use of money and resources.”

“Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will definitely become richer if they learn and use HDI’s business-class-knowledge which has been proven by the graduates,” Papa Sam said.

Inquiry into Papua New Guinea Defence Force by government

The government has been called on to conduct an independent inquiry into the Papua New Guinea Defence Force.

Former army commander Jerry Singirok took to social media and echoed this after off duty members of the defence force attacked and killed a police officer on Saturday in Port Moresby.

Singirok is famously known for leading a mutiny in 1997 against the government engaging Sandline International to flush out Bougainville Revolutionary Army on Bougainville.

He posted a picture of himself with former commanders Ted Diro and Peter Ilau.

" We call on the Government of the day to step up the control of the PNGDF as we have noted a serious decline in morale and discipline," he said.

 He  also said: "We call for an independent inquiry in the command and Control of the PNGDF including aspect of unfair recruitment and management of public funds."

 Singirok has been an advocate for soldiering and  upholding of etiquette behavior and defence work and he  was blunt about the killing of late police officer.

"As the duly appointed Secretary General of PNG Flag officer's League on behalf of the former Commanders PNGDF, we condemn the killing of a senior police officer," he said.

 He later commented about being a  soldier: “I am advocating that to be a soldier was a personal choice as it is a volunteer Defence Force.”

“ We decided to uphold and serve God, Queen and the Country.”

“ In order to achieve that we have been trained for risks far greater than the ordinary citizens. It gives us soldiers no greater advantage or privilege to act contrary to the Defence Force Act or the Constitution,” he said.

“Our place is in the barracks where we are natured and institutionalized and head counted so we can respond to orders from our chain of command as Section 202 of the Constitution is explicit in our roles and functions,” he said.

“So regardless of the general  prevailing security situation in our country, no soldier  is allowed to behave outside of the provisions of the guiding principles of behaviour as stipulated in the Defence Act and various Defence Standng Orders. If it is too much to bare then the gates are open and leave where you can be at your own liberty,” Singirok concluded.

David Manning says government has plan post COVID-19 SOE

 

COVID 19 State of Emergency Controller David Manning says the Government has a plan in place and will announce this on the floor of Parliament when it resumes its sitting on the 2nd of June to debate the COVID-19 SOE report.

  Mr Manning said this following a news report that there is no evidence to determine what is PNG’s next course of action after six weeks of the SOE.

  “My statement was taken out of context and relates only to the boost of our efforts in the testing regime which started in Port Moresby and will first focus in areas where the positive cases were identified and also in our border provinces. We have a plan and the testing is to ascertain and determine in the medical and health front what we need to know and strategise after this SOE period which ends on the 2nd June 2020,” Mr Manning said.

  He said relevant government departments have announced their "new normal" approaches amidst this pandemic however it is critical our Health department and the Institute of Medical Research working with the World Health Organisation fully understand COVID-19 and advise government to make informed decisions on the next steps forward.

  Mr Manning reiterated the Coronavirus or COVID-19 threat is very much real and PNG must continue to take precautions as the world still knows very little and responsible institutions worldwide are working around the clock to understand COVID-19 and how to manage the spread and work on its vaccination.

  “We must applaud Prime Minister James Marape and the Government for taking the appropriate and necessary actions so far. These actions protected the country and we must remain vigilant. Now we need to see where we are in understanding the virus and how it has affected the country and from this understanding finalise our plan,” Mr Manning said.

Press Release

Agreeing after 20 years- an account from Hela

 

BY ALEXANDER NARA

It was a little past four o’clock that Sunday afternoon when we arrived at Ambua Lodge, nestled amongst the Doma Peaks near Tari town, Hela Province.

Light drizzles that seemed to have followed us from Mt Hagen had ceased and the gravelled car park lay wet and soft under the surrounding thick trees, wreathed with fallen leaves and greenish moss.

Few resident birds probably disturbed by our arrival chirped sharply somewhere in the dense canopy then joined their friends in a melodious chaos of trills.

I visited Hela Province several times but never had the chance to come closer to this “award winning and eco-friendly” lodge.

A sweet smell of cleanliness embraced the air, rich with the fragrance of leaves, flora and loam.

She was still closed to the public at that time following devastating earthquakes in 2018, but when collecting information for this story, the management confirmed that her doors would open very soon.

The main reception opens into an attractive work of architecture, displaying a comfortable lounge area and the restaurant built around a nicely designed fireplace, like a scene from those royal homes in old 1970s English films.

At almost 7000 feet above sea level, her sparkling green and flowery backyard slid downhill over the western hillside with its edges crashing into the entire Tari valley below.

Serrated mountain ranges loomed behind blanket of mist in the distant west.  

These mountains hold the fount to some of Hela’s many natural resource projects including PNG LNG project with source areas of Hides, Angore, Kutubu, Moro, Moran, Juha and Mananda Oil Fields.

I was on another trip into the township that week when I met Chairman of Angore Wellpad B, Hari John Akipe who is also the Secretary for Defence.

They would be travelling into Undupi village the next morning where Wellpad ‘C’ is located, one of the key sites within Angore PDL 8 area for a special ceremony.

Also coming to witness would be the members of the Hela provincial administration, and representatives from Kubak lawyers standing in for ExxonMobil, Police and Defence Force personnel and representatives from the company’s security.

For over twenty years, drilling at Wellpad ‘C’ had remained frozen, untouched with all agreements shelved as the Principle Landowner, Mango Kurali and his tribesmen refused to allow ExxonMobil to drill.

This came after the company took out a permanent injunction that restrained Mango and his tribesmen from entering land within fenced area of Wellpad A and B, which is their own land.

Kurali ended up on the wanted list by disciplinary forces for questioning that sparked a long standing tension between the company, his tribesmen and him but that is a story I am not interested in.

Mango Kurali has finally agreed to sign the agreement for ExxonMobil to access the land and conduct environmental damage and Improvement assessment as well as commence drilling at the site.

A decision that would open the floodgates to a fountain of wealth for his tribesmen, their women and children.

I asked to join the team to watch the agreement signing because I know there would be a lot of pork meat.

 He agreed.

He was accompanied by Principle of Kamuta Lawyers, Tau Kamuta representing Mango Kurali and other advisors to the landowning group.  

It was the next morning when we left the lodge and headed for Undupi village, almost a two hour drive out of Tari Town to witness that ceremony.

Wellpad ‘C’ sat at the edge of a hillside, looking back over the basin below.

Weeds and thorny shrubs grew around the drilled site with thick iron bars lined across its opening, obviously untouched over those years. 

Along the edges on the other side, freshly butchered pork were sprawled across a long dugout ‘mumu’ pit in the Hela way, so they told me.

Some mothers shy away from the camera which I choose to respect as I watched them prepare the meat with bananas while the young men tendered the red hot stones.

Elderly men barked a few orders which everyone obeyed, citing a strong tribal correlation that seemed to hold them together.

A feeling of understanding can be sensed in their midst, knowing that their gardens would be destroyed and their valleys and rivers would be taken away but it is a decision they have to take.

Kurali also said he understood the inconveniencies he had caused and want to let it all go and to stand with his tribe to see the drilling get off-ground.

When signing the agreement that afternoon, he said the disagreements over the years is now a thing of the past and he will make sure strong support is provided by his entire tribe to ensure the gas is piped to the PNG LNG Project.

He said he respected the fact that PDL 8 itself grants ExxonMobil service rights to fulfil its obligations and construction to work and to upgrade its existing gas lines under its licence.

Kurali appealed to ExxonMobil to recognize the signing with his tribe as a sorry from the heart and call on the company to resume drilling.

The ceremony proceeded into the afternoon hours, sealed off with handshakes and full dishes of pork meat, chicken and so many cans of coke.

“This is a family thing and we have to sort it out as a family for no one will do it for us,” Wellpad B chairman Hari Akipe told the tribe as he provided guidance throughout the signing.

It was almost dark when we arrived back at Ambua Lodge, only to be hypnotised by a sickly sweet aroma of grilled beef, onions and broccoli.

A moment that made me pity my skinny frame and tight little stomach.

Dinner that night was cosmic, full of untold stories and jokes until the lodge’s warm beds dragged us all into her comforts, dreams and silence.

I left for Port Moresby the following afternoon.