National AIDS Council Secretariat (NACS)

For this reason, NACS in collaboration with the PNG Electoral Commission and the Department of Health have intensified the prevention efforts to minimize further transmission of HIV and other STIs, Unintended pregnancies, and COVID-19 during the elections.

NACS Acting Director, Tony Lupiwa, in a discussion stated that messages will be printed on posters, produced in jingles and T-shirts, which were presented recently by the Chinese Government.

The Chinese Embassy’s Director of Political Section, Sun Jai, stated that the shirts bearing NACS HIV prevention messages were for the general elections.

NACS Acting Director, Tony Lupiwa, said they were aware of the election activities that accompanies some risky practices.

He said the election experiences a lot of violence, drug and alcohol abuse, unsafe sexual practices including transitional sexual activities.

The shirts will be distributed to health authorities once awareness is done in different provinces.

NACS Acting Director Tony Lupiwa said election is a time that draws a lot unsafe sexual practices which could lead to transmission of STIs, HIV, cause an increase in unplanned pregnancies, and stimulate other social issues.

"NACS together with its partners; PNG Electoral Commission and National Department of Health are aware of these issues and have therefore developed awareness messages to educate people about these dangers,” said Mr Lupiwa.

They stole property worth more than K60,800.

Thirty-year-old Willie Raphael from Eastern Highlands Province and seven other suspects were arrested and charged under section 398 (a) (i) under the Criminal Code Act.

Court documents stated that on 31^st July 2019, the suspects were armed with four factory made pistols when they allegedly entered the main gates of NACS and held up security guards on duty.

Police alleged that five of the suspects walked in the building; two kept watch while defendant Raphael waited in the vehicle.

This comes after alarming statistics were reported by the National AIDS Council Secretariat (NACS) noting 3,000 newly infected cases in 2017, one quarter of these being young people and children, and a total of 1,500 AIDS-related deaths.

FFI, through its program, identified the main causes of death among these children as; defaulting from treatment and loss to follow up treatment.

FFI highlighted this in its second newsletter released this week, stressing for parent(s) and guardian(s) to take responsibility for their child.