The Kokoda Initiative Development Program has completed its most comprehensive health patrol yet, conducting TB and HIV testing in 103 villages along the mountainous corridor through Central and Oro Provinces.
The six month health blitz, conducted with local health workers, Seventh Day Adventist Health and World Vision International, detected 51 new tuberculosis cases and two new HIV cases.
Papua New Guinea has one of the world’s highest TB rates. According to the World Health Organization, 437 people in 100,000 have the disease. Of those, 14 per cent are also HIV positive.
TB patients must complete a six-month course of medication, making access to drugs and proper supervision vital to tackling the disease.
In a first for the Australian-Aid funded program, health workers brought microscopes and mobile generators with them, enabling them to test for TB in open air bush laboratories.
The integrated patrols conducted 3200 health consultations, more than 1500 childhood immunisations and 83 antenatal checks. Family planning advice was provided to more than 120 women.
The project was delivered with support from health authorities in Central and Oro Provinces and Hiri and Sohe District.
Kokoda Initiative health adviser, Annette Coppola said in the past, 73 per cent of TB patients had failed to complete a six-month course of medication, placing themselves and their communities at ongoing risk.
“One of the barriers to completing patients finishing their treatment was poor access to drugs, which often required an eight to ten hour walk to collect from the nearest health centre. Now, 91 per cent of patients are complying with their treatment regimes, thanks to village health volunteers who deliver the drugs to their homes,” Ms Coppola said.
Community health worker Dinima Raga travelled with the team through the Mt Koiari catchment, where eight new TB cases were identified.
He said more people had come forward for testing when they saw that TB was caused by a bacteria.
“We are diagnosing them and putting them on the treatment at the same time,” Mr Raga said. “We have 14 village health volunteers who are supporting them.”
The Kokoda Initiative is a partnership program of the governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea to improve health, education and sanitation along the 100km Kokoda Track corridor.
