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Call for Regional Response

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Papua New Guinean academic Steven Winduo (right) was a guest speaker at the recent Pacific Health Leadership programme. He called for greater regional cooperation on public health issues, such as HIV/AIDS, that transcend national boundaries.

Steven Winduo

STEVEN Winduo is a visiting research fellow from the University of Papua New Guinea. He’s been in New Zealand at the University of Canterbury’s Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies and is completing a book on the use of traditional medicinal plants and healing practices. The book is part of wider efforts to explore the region’s biodiversity and identify plants that can help fight major diseases.

However, what’s on his mind today is not the book, but the need for stronger leadership to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic sweeping his homeland. He ponders what might be possible with a little more vision and cooperation.

“HIV/AIDS is heavily affecting the people of PNG but I doubt it’s a problem that is just limited to PNG. So the challenge for all of us involved in Pacific health is to not just concentrate on local problems, but also play our role regionally.

“No-one seems to know the scale of the problem. The World Health Organisation estimates that there are already 40,000 cases with a 50 percent increase in the infection rate each year. We simply don’t have the facilities and medicines to cope. Addressing the issue requires a lot of international input.”

He hopes New Zealand’s emerging Pacific health sector develops a vision for Pacific health that extends beyond these shores.

“Just because I’m a health professional working in New Zealand doesn’t mean that HIV/AIDS is not going to be a problem for me, because if diseases like this go unchecked, they quickly transcend national boundaries.

“That’s why it’s important that Pacific Island health leaders in New Zealand are aware of what’s happening elsewhere in the Pacific. The services and resources that New Zealand makes available to the wider Pacific need to be taken into account in any discussion about Pacific health in New Zealand.”

Steven acknowledges New Zealand already makes a significant contribution. New Zealand’s current aid budget to PNG is $30 million over three years. Twenty-seven percent of spending is health related and New Zealand is helping to fund an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.

However, the challenges facing the country are enormous. Forty percent of the population lives in poverty and population growth is outstripping economic growth. The average adult life expectancy is just 57 years and the incidence of death from preventable disease is on the increase.

“When we look at the bigger picture you can see how the health pressures really start to unfold. These are challenges not just for health workers, but for all of us. We can’t just say, ‘This is a serious problem for the PNG medical profession.’ The problem is simply too big for that. It has to cut right across society.

“We all need to do more. I want to show leadership and advocate on behalf of my community. If I don’t do it as someone who occupies an academic position, if I don’t take responsibility and talk about these issues, then I have basically failed my responsibility to my people.

“It’s important that we start to work as a group across the region itself. Develop networks where we can actually share resources and knowledge – things such as ensuring open access to conferences, workshops and information,” he says.

“I’m excited about how the Pacific health scene is developing here. I want to raise awareness among the sector and ask them a simple question – could you do more? I’d like to think that a Pacific Islands person working in health in New Zealand could go and serve in Papua New Guinea and expand their knowledge and experience.

“When you look at the Solomons, you can see the regional response there is making a huge difference. Why not have a regional Pacific health workforce like we do with peacekeepers? We’ve got to expand the idea of what it means to help each other in the Pacific, not just on political issues, but on social issues, such as health.”