United Nations

One incident allegedly involved sustained violence against four school cleaners accused of sorcery in Porgera, Enga Province.

In a separate incident, it is alleged that a primary school girl was taken as a sex slave in the Fugwa area of Hela Province.

“These incidents must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. It is unacceptable that in the 21st Century, so many women and young girls are living in fear simply because of their gender,” said Richard Howard, the UN Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea.

Every two minutes, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, according to the latest estimates released in a report by United Nations agencies today. This report, Trends in maternal mortality, reveals alarming setbacks for women’s health over recent years, as maternal deaths either increased or stagnated in nearly all regions of the world.

He made this known during a panel session last Wednesday, June 29, themed Bridge the Blue Finance Gap, in which he participated.

The panel discussed financing sustainable ocean-based economies in emerging markets, especially in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) solutions across the investment continuum.

The signing took place between Dirk Wagener, UN Resident Coordinator, and Koney Samuel, Secretary for the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, on behalf of the Government of PNG.

Secretary Samuel acknowledged the UN as one of PNG’s important development partners and conveyed the Government’s gratitude to the UN System for its commitment to country throughout the years since Independence.

“Our partnership with the UN has been very strong and we are happy with the progress made on a number of programmes, especially the ones critical to government,” said Samuel.

UN Women is an agency for Gender Equality and the empowerment of women. The breakfast meeting is part of their efforts to strengthen their partnerships with the media in the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The event brought together editors and members from different media houses in Papua New Guinea.

Gender equality in PNG is doing poorly as there are high levels of gender-based violence which remains a challenge in the country and it is ranked 160 out of 162 in the gender equality index.

Most of the local population live in rural areas and face challenges related to accessing basic services such as healthcare. Accessing basic services is at times hindered by violence and tribal fighting in local communities.

Through working in partnership with the Hela Provincial Government, United Nations agencies, and partners, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is promoting peace and development in the Guala community in Hela Province.

She oversees the common premises budget, coordinating payments, property and communication needs of all duty stations across the country.

Cavanagh says she feels fortunate when requested to travel on mission and visit duty stations in the provinces. Being out in the field really puts things into perspective.

“It gives me a sense of appreciation and pride, to be working with an organisation like the United Nations, who is impacting, changing and improving people’s lives.”

Along the way, he stops to offer a lift to two women carrying bilums full of sweet potato vines to plant in their new garden site.

Once safely onboard, Fr Isaiah continues the journey.

As he shifts gears to climb the undulating terrain, he points out a freshly planted food garden next to a newly built kunai-thatched traditional house, and he says: “These communities have just moved back after years of conflict.”

The report, entitled: 2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Bridging the Finance Divide, finds that while rich countries were able to support their pandemic recovery with record sums borrowed at ultra-low interest rates, the poorest countries spent billions servicing debt, preventing them from investing in sustainable development.

The pandemic shock plunged 77 million more people into extreme poverty in 2021, and by the end of the year, many economies remained below pre-2019 levels.

EU-STREIT PNG have conducted six cocoa bud grafting and block management trainings for 1061 lead farmers in Aitape, East and West LLGs, in order to rehabilitate old cocoa trees and those affected by cocoa pod borer (CPB) pest. A new vanilla pollination technique will equip 357 lead farmers in six villages in remote areas.

FAO-led EU-STREIT PNG conducted 12 trainings for farmers in Sandaun, who earn a living from cocoa and vanilla.