In what may be the first recorded occurrence of cholera in PNG, outbreaks have been
confirmed in remote Wasu and Lae City in Morobe Province. The disease has already
claimed 20 lives – although major newspapers in PNG report many more deaths. The
situation is made worse by poor sanitation and lack of access to potable water supplies in
rural Wasu and by lack of safe water supplies, crowding and insanitary conditions in the
settlements around Lae City. Because Lae lies at the start of the Highlands Highway, it is
feared that unless contained the epidemic will quickly spread up into the populous
Highlands Provinces.
people around Menyamya District elsewhere in Morobe Province. More deaths from this
double epidemic are reported from the neighbouring Eastern Highlands Province, and
food shortages are reported from nearby remote areas of Gulf Province. In these rural
areas where vehicular roads are absent, poor access to health centres and limited
personnel and medical supplies are a particular concern.
Provincial Division of Health has deployed an assessment team to the affected Wonenara
Sub-district in the Eastern Highlands Province. With an already established presence in
the country, CARE implements programs in community development, water and
sanitation, HIV prevention, adult literacy, agriculture and natural resource management.
As a result of this work, CARE has established networks in the region and the rapid
assessment will help to assess the impacts of the disease outbreaks and CARE's role in
this emergency.