Whilst Papua New Guinea is a melanesian nation of welcoming and open-hearted people, generous and family oriented, in a spectacular and beautiful tropical setting, the nation itself is exhibiting many of the symptoms of decay of a small developing country.
A small manufacturing base, employment-light resource extraction projects, and a neo-liberal small government approach have not helped. PNG suffers from high unemployment, a low skills base, poor government services, and seriously under-developed infrastructure, due in part to low company taxation, a culture of political favours, corruption, and foreign exploitation.
PNG is a nation-state facing numerous serious problems—many basic public services are run into the ground, and the health system is decrepit and the worst in the region. With this background, it is the spread of HIV/AIDS that has developed into perhaps the country’s biggest test, with the potential to kill thousands and wreak havoc with its economy.
The statistics are truly shocking, and the stream of stories becoming known is alarming. The Australian government’s latest research into the impact of HIV/AIDS on PNG reveals it may be leading to the possible collapse of the PNG economy. Based on current trends, AusAID forecasts a potential decline in the PNG labour force of 37.5 per cent by 2020—a devastating effect on the country.
Already the number of confirmed HIV cases in PNG far exceeds that of here, despite its population being just one-quarter of Australia’s. The breadth of this unfolding catastrophe has been barely reported in the Australian media.
The numbers:
Official statistics state more than 16,000 people in PNG have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, since the first case was reported in 1987. Australia, with four times the population of PNG, has 12,000 HIV-positive people. The increase in infection rates, at up to 60 per cent a year, is the highest in the Pacific
The estimates of HIV infection vary: 22,000 says AusAID; 50,000 says World Bank; 67,000 says Caritas Australia; possibly 100,000 says the National AIDS Council.
The Medical Journal of Australia says it is now the major cause of death at Port Moresby Hospital—greater than tuberculosis and malaria. Each month the hospital sees over 100 new HIV/AIDS cases.
AusAID’s latest research by Dr Jenny Gordon, predicts the crippling economic impact the epidemic will have on PNG. Dr Gordon estimates that based on present trends, by 2020 the labour force could decline by 37.5 per cent, GDP could be reduced