Speech at the signing of subsidiary arrangement for PNG-Australia HIV and AIDS Program
7 December 2006, Vulupindi Haus, Port Moresby, PNG
Australian High Commissioner to PNG, His Excellency Mr Chris Moraitis
Minister Barter, officials of the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, the National AIDS Council Secretariat, other agencies, ladies and gentlemen.
I’m pleased to be here today to speak at the signing of this Subsidiary Arrangement under which Australia’s new PNG-Australia HIV and AIDS Program will be implemented.
The presence of HIV/AIDS as a threat to the current and future development of this country and the need to address the epidemic as an urgent, national priority has made a deep impact in my first week as Australian High Commissioner. Arriving during National AIDS Week has reinforced the briefings I’ve received on why the high prevalence of HIV in PNG is a key priority of our overseas aid program.
A strengthened, coordinated and effective response to HIV/AIDS is one of four core objectives in Australia’s Development Cooperation Strategy for PNG, and what we are signing today is essential to achieving this objective.
Over the past two years we have been working to develop an improved, scaled-up program of support to address the increasing impact of HIV in PNG. The resulting program – which we are calling Sanap Wantaim (‘Stand Together’) – builds on the
six-year, 65 million dollar National HIV/AIDS Support Project (NHASP) which ends this month.
There have been some significant achievements in the past six years. Specifically:
• There is now a network of Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centres, and thousands of people trained in basic HIV awareness and counselling.
• The HIV/AIDS Management and Protection Act has been passed to protect the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS.
• Provincial AIDS Committees have been established and supported in every province.
• There are now 30 surveillance sites in 15 provinces around the country.
• STI treatment services have been strengthened.
• 620 health workers have been trained and 17 community care centres for HIV positive people have been established, and
• Many other achievements have been made.
But clearly, collectively, we have to do much more as the epidemic escalates.
Sanap Wantaim will support PNG to lead a strong and coordinated response. It will work to support PNG Government priorities which are articulated in the National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS. It will use existing PNG Government processes and systems to engage all sectors to support HIV-related activities.
The program will also draw on and build on the strengths of the churches, private sector, other non-government organisations and PNG’s various development partners in delivering a scaled-up response across PNG’s 20 provinces.
Through the aid program, the Australian Government will be taking a hands-on approach to delivering Sanap Wantaim. AusAID has employed a Senior Program Coordinator specifically for this purpose and I am pleased to announce today the appointment of Anne Malcolm to this position. Anne brings extensive knowledge both of PNG and of HIV/AIDS issues globally, and I am very pleased that she will be leading this program.
Australia will spend about 50 million kina per year on Sanap Wantaim over the next five years, and we expect the program to operate for 7 to 10 years. Significant support for the health sector in its response to HIV and AIDS will be additional.
The Subsidiary Arrangement we are signing today documents the understanding between our two governments and the shared commitment and contribution we will make to support PNG’s national response to the epidemic. This will include:
• Community mobilisation for an expanded prevention effort
• Health sector strengthening
• Addressing gender issues and violence against women
• Promoting leadership on HIV/AIDS issues at every level in PNG, and
• Developing a much better evidence base for action
These areas are all interrelated: communities are at the heart of the response, but they need reliable health services and committed leaders; improving the status of women needs strong communities and leadership, and we need good information on which to base all our HIV programs.
While Australia has played a key role in supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS, ultimately the responsibility for this fight rests with the Government of Papua New Guinea. Australia welcomes Government of Papua New Guinea leadership initiatives to strengthen its response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to give HIV/AIDS issues a greater profile.
I would like to specifically acknowledge the support of Sir Peter Barter, Minister assisting the Prime Minister on HIV/AIDS, and particularly for his work in achieving the recent 300 per cent increase for HIV/AIDS in the 2007 Budget.
As we come towards the end of AIDS Week here in PNG it seems appropriate to reaffirm and strengthen Australia’s commitment to joining the PNG Government in fighting HIV/AIDS.
On behalf of the Australian Government and my AusAID colleagues here today, I look forward to working with you to deliver the new program – Sanap Wantaim – and to greatly enhancing our efforts in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
END