Church leaders from 19 Christian denominations in Papua New Guinea (PNG) came together to launch the Christian Leaders Alliance, a network of Christian faith leaders committed to provide an effective response to AIDS in the country. Civil Society, including people living with HIV, Faith based groups, donors and partners in the national response attended the event.

“This is a turning point in the national AIDS response. Having Christian Leaders to jointly come together in addressing AIDS is a major breakthrough, a source of inspiration to all of us in the AIDS community in Papua New Guinea,” said UNAIDS Country Coordinator Tim Rwabuhemba.

During the launch, faith leaders signed a Statement of Commitment to represent their promise in reversing the epidemic in the country. The statement enumerates the ways in which the Christian church can make a lasting difference in helping the country to overcome the epidemic.

“The launch and the signing of the statement of commitment is a historic event of great magnitude” said His Excellency the Governor General of PNG, Grand Chief, Sir Paulius Matane in his keynote address while launching the Alliance. Sir Paulius Matane commended the church leaders for taking “bold, strong and courageous steps needed against a formidable adversary such as HIV.”

The new alliance aims to share knowledge, understanding and experience from the various communities to unite efforts for a more effective and inclusive response to AIDS. Through the signing of the agreement, faith leaders seek to establish a new culture of ecumenical cooperation, respecting the uniqueness of their traditions while focusing on shared values of human dignity and human rights.

Faith leaders committed, among other things, to address social, religious, cultural and political norms and practices that perpetuate stigma and discrimination. To that end, they agreed to utilize existing infrastructure and communication networks within their religious communities to disseminate accurate HIV information in the areas of prevention, treatment, care and support.

“We pledge to do more. We will spare no effort to break the silence around HIV,” said the Head of the Roman Catholic Church in PNG and Chair of the Alliance, Archbishop John Ribat.

Sir Peter Barter, Chairperson National AIDS Council, noted that the churches of Papua New Guinea were the stakeholders with the “biggest potential for preventing the spread of HIV in the country. This is because the churches have gained the trust and confidence of affected communities.”

Papua New Guinea makes up the largest share of HIV cases in the Pacific region, growing exponentially from 21% in 1984–1989 to over 99% in 2008. Reported cases in Papua New Guinea total 28,294 but UNAIDS estimates there are 54,000 people living with HIV. It is estimated that by 2012, Papua New Guinea will have a national prevalence rate of 5.07% and a total of 208,714 people will have been infected with HIV.

The first Pacific launch of the report “Turning the Tide: An OPEN strategy for a response to AIDS in the Pacific” took place in Papua New Guinea on Thursday 11 March 2010. The report is the first document to synthesize regional and country information on epidemiology, risks and vulnerabilities, and financing and coordination of the AIDS response. Issues of rights and civil society as well as the impact of AIDS on health are also highlighted.

The report was officially launched by the UN Secretary-General in New York on 2 December 2009. It was produced by the Commission on AIDS in the Pacific, an independent body established to provide an objective and independent analysis of the status and impact of the HIV epidemic in the Pacific region.

“UNAIDS fully supports this report and finds that many of the recommendations in the report align very closely with the priorities identified in the Outcome Framework for Action agreed by all the 10 cosponsors and the secretariat of UNAIDS” said Mr Sidibé.

According to the report, a number of factors have hindered the region’s response to the epidemic. Limited awareness and understanding of the potential impact of the epidemic, weak health care systems and an unsupportive legal environment have all contributed to varying degrees of success by Governments across the region. The report has clearly highlighted the factors inhibiting a strong and determined response to the epidemic. While some of these are known, it is for the first time that all the issues were addressed by the Commission.

His Excellency Sir Paulias Matane, Governor General of Papua New Guinea officiated the national launch of the report together with Honourable Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa and the Chair of the Commission on AIDS in Pacific. J.V.R. Prasada Rao, Special Advisor to the UNAIDS Executive Director delivered a speech on behalf of UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé.

Uneven response in the region

Pacific countries are often included in broad Asia-Pacific regional groupings where the magnitude of the problem in Asian countries overshadows the challenges and needs of smaller Pacific countries.

These realities about the regions led to the constitution of an independent Commission on AIDS in the Pacific in October 2007 to examine the current scale of the HIV epidemic in the region.

There have been 29,629 reported cases of people living with HIV in the Pacific, with 5,162 new HIV diagnoses reported in 2008.

Papua New Guinea makes up the largest share of cases, growing exponentially from 21% in 1984–1989 to over 99% in 2008. Reported cases in Papua New Guinea total 28,294 but UNAIDS estimates there are 54,000 people living with HIV. It is estimated that by 2012, Papua New Guinea will have a national prevalence rate of 5.07% and a total of 208,714 people will have been infected with HIV.

The predominant means of HIV transmission in the region is unprotected sex. The number of HIV-positive young people is steadily increasing and young women are infected earlier than young men. New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Guam have identified unprotected male-to-male sex and injecting drug use as key issues to address to effectively respond to the epidemic.

The report states that a “one size fits all” response does not suit the diversity of Pacific nations and outdated legislation criminalizing homosexuality and sex work is a major impediment in the region.

A version of this story first appeared at undp.org

United Nations Development Programme Administrator Miss Helen Clark highlighted HIV issues during her visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG). In her meetings with senior government and other officials, she underlined that “the United Nations development system stands ready to continue working with the Government and the people of Papua New Guinea in overcoming existing development challenges and accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, especially in areas such as education, health, advancing women’s empowerment and combating HIV/AIDS epidemic.”

At the UNDP Leadership Development Programme on HIV run by the Friends Foundation in the Gerehu suburb Miss Clark praised the programme for supporting people to back to their communities to find innovative ways to respond to the AIDS epidemic. Programmes include includes supporting orphans and reducing stigma and discrimination. She also met with one of three family sexual violence units at the Boroko police station in Port Mores which assists survivors of gender-based and domestic violence.

Miss Clark launched the Second National MDG Progress Report together with the Minister for National Planning and District Development, Mr Paul Tiensten. As the report highlights, Papua New Guinea is currently off track to meet the Millennium Development Goals, including in areas of responding to HIV, reducing child and maternal mortality, and promoting gender equality.

“The sad truth is that where we see progress towards the MDGs lagging the most is often where the needs and status of women and girls are accorded low priority,” she said.

At the inauguration of the National Women’s Forum on Equality and Participation for Women: a Better Future for Papua New Guinea, which Miss Clark co-chaired with the Minister for Community Development, Dame Carol Kidu, the discussion focused on the need to increase women’s voices and participation in politics as a critical means to promote democracy, advance gender equality, and achieve sustainable and inclusive development.

Women in decision-making has been a critical issue in Papua New Guinea against a backdrop of a high level of gender-based violence coupled with high rates of HIV among women and girls between the ages of 15-29 years. Papua New Guinea currently has only one female Member of Parliament, and efforts are underway to reserve 22 seats for women in Parliament.

“Efforts to promote gender equality, including promoting girls’ education, improving maternal health, combating gender-based violence, and securing female representation in government leadership positions, are of critical importance to advance development in Papua New Guinea,” said Miss Clark. “Unleashing the potential of Papua New Guinea means giving women the same opportunities in life as men,” she said.

Like many young people, 19-year-old Rifal* never used to worry about AIDS. He saw it as a problem that only affected high-risk groups, such as intravenous drug users. His view changed in February 2006, when he learned he was HIV positive. Rifal hasn’t told his family or friends of his status. He fears being stigmatized. The only place he feels comfortable discussing his condition is at a clinic, where he receives medical and psychological care.While AIDS affects all of Indonesia, in Papua the proportion of people living with HIV relative to the total population is well over 10 times the national rate.

To stem the tide of transmission, a programme supported by UNAIDS Cosponsor organization UNICEF is educating young people in Papua about HIV. The goal of this campaign is to promote awareness in the classroom and train young people to serve as peer educators. In addition to visiting older students, UNICEF is working to bring AIDS education to young people in junior high school – a critical time to reach out to young people on HIV and sexuality. The HIV education effort also aims to reach out to at least 10,000 young people who are no longer attending school. Peer educators visit local hangouts and areas on the beach that are frequented by young people who may no longer be in school and hand out booklets about AIDS awareness.As well as reaching out to young people, the programme also trains teachers to educate students about reproductive health and HIV.

Rifal believes this grassroots effort is needed to contain the spread of HIV. “Young people need to know more about using condoms and protecting themselves so that they don’t take risks,” he said. Sister Zita Kuswati, a Catholic nun in the regency of Sorong, has become one of the area’s most tireless and outspoken advocates in the fight against AIDS. As the leader of an HIV support group, Sister Kuswati believes information is power for young people.“We really needn’t be afraid of AIDS if we know how it is transmitted,” she said. “Students should be made aware of the method of transmission, the method of prevention and how people can be treated as early as possible.” “The epidemic in Papua is becoming more generalized, so raising awareness among young people is absolutely vital,” said Jane Wilson, UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Indonesia. “Greater education is helping young people make a difference within their communities and can help turn the tide on the epidemic.” 

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By Steve Nettleton, UNICEF. This story first appeared on the UNICEF web site www.unicef.org

*Name has been changed to protect identity
All photo credit : UNICEF Video

During the First National HIV Summit recently held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister reaffirmed a three-fold budget increase for the National AIDS Council to address the country’s growing AIDS crisis. 

The Right Honorable, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, called for an immediate expansion of treatment and care for people living with HIV, and urged leaders of civil society, interfaith groups and the private sector to work more closely with the government to stem new HIV infections sweeping the Pacific island nation. “The epidemic is increasing its hold on Papua New Guinea,” he said.

Papua New Guinea has the highest HIV prevalence in the Pacific, with national estimates placing the number of HIV infections at approximately 64,000.

“What has to happen out of this summit is action and more of it,” said Annmaree O’Keeffe, Australia’s Special Representative for HIV/AIDS. She cited the alarming findings of a recent AusAID study which projected that the number of people living with HIV in Papua New Guinea could reach half a million by 2025 if the epidemic is left unchecked.

Public health data in Papua New Guinea indicate that combined factors such as the rising number of STIs, low condom use among commercial and non-commercial partners, as well as domestic violence against women, all contribute to the rapid spread of HIV infection.

HIV is primarily transmitted through heterosexual sex and women aged 15 to 29 are twice as likely to be infected with HIV then men in the same age group, as relationships between young women and older men are common.  In remote highland areas, tribal traditions such as arranged marriages also reflect gender inequality issues.

“We have the real potential to lose the women of Papua New Guinea to the epidemic,” said Dr Jacqui Badcock, UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator. “We need to intervene on behalf of women,” she said.

Dr Badcock also stressed that the UN Joint Plan to support the National AIDS Strategic Plan - which includes ARV treatment programs and the Monitoring and Evaluation of HIV and AIDS programs - must adopt the best practices model for HIV prevention.

“The absence of people living with HIV in Papua New Guinea’s AIDS response is one of its greatest weaknesses,” said Maura Mean of the NGO Igat Hope in reference to the absence of any people living with HIV on the National AIDS Committee. She emphasized that people living with HIV must be directly involved in shaping Papua New Guinea’s national policy: “It is time for us to come out of the shadows.”

Alarmed by recent reports that people living with HIV have been buried alive in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) express their serious concerns that gross violations of human rights may have been committed against HIV positive people.

The National AIDS Council and National Department of Health have released the latest estimates on national HIV prevalence in Papua New Guinea (PNG)

The Pacific Island countries have a unique opportunity to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS before it is too late. “Although HIV prevalence levels remain low, we must not underestimate the size of the challenges confronting the Pacific Islands region,” said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, in a video statement for the opening of the UNAIDS workshop, “Accelerating Action Against HIV/AIDS in the Pacific”, being held in Fiji from 22-26 March 2004.