Assistance for "Strengthening Human Security for Women in Mobile Populations through Health Education and HIV/AIDS Care in Papua New Guinea" Project

May 10, 2006

On the 10th of May (Wednesday), the Government of Japan and the United Nations (UN) decided to extend assistance totalling 2,725,461.50 US dollars (approximately 302 million yen), through the Trust Fund for Human Security to a project entitled "Strengthening Human Security for Women in Mobile Populations through Health Education and HIV/AIDS Care in Papua New Guinea" that will be implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Papua New Guinea's wide spread poverty, poor social services, violence and frequent natural disasters have forced a large number of people to move from rural areas to large cities for better safety and job opportunities. However, these people, particularly women, still remain insecure in their temporary urban settlements where the threat of HIV/AIDS is rapidly emerging and public health service remains poor. This project aims at strengthening the capacity of local health systems to provide quality health care for the mobile population in the PNG. The following activities will be implemented:
- Establishing a community-based health education system focused on HIV/AIDS especially designed for women;
- Reaching out to women living in mobile populations through meetings and counselling, and encouraging them to access health information as well as health facilities;
- Promoting HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support services by empowering local nurses and health-care workers;
- Strengthening capacity of health care facilities in Lae, Mount Hagen, Port Moresby and Rabaul where a large mobile population is seen.
This project is expected to improve health conditions and the quality of living of women in mobile communities in the PNG.

(Note)

The Trust Fund for Human Security was established in the United Nations Secretariat in March 1999 at the initiative of the Government of Japan. Since then, total contributions have reached approximately 31.5 billion yen (US$ 279.7 million). The Trust Fund has supported more than 150 projects from UN agencies, each one addressing various threats to human life, livelihood and dignity, from the perspective of human security.

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