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Life in PNG
Although PNG lies only five kilometres from Australian territory at its nearest point, its standards of living and healthcare have little in common with Australia’s. Around 40% of PNG’s population lives on less than US$1 per day, with PNG ranking 121 out of 135 countries on the United Nations’ Human Poverty Index, which measures a country’s standard of living.
On the UN Human Development Index, which measures literacy, life expectancy and standard of living, PNG ranks 148 out of 182 countries (see link to report on left).
Poorest state of health in the Pacific region
PNG has the poorest state of health in the Pacific region, especially in rural areas where health services are deteriorating and difficult to access at best, or at worst closed down. Access to healthcare in more remote areas can be severely restricted, where patients, health workers and supply deliveries must negotiate raging rivers, muddy roads and rugged mountains.
Not enough doctors
Doctor shortage is a major problem in PNG. In Australia we share a doctor with 400 others, while the average Papua New Guinean shares their doctor with over 7,900 people. The majority of doctors are located in the capital, Port Moresby. In some of the more remote regions of Western Province there are no doctors or nurses at all, in some cases leaving up to 66,000 people with no access to medical care whatsoever.
Deadly diseases
As a result of these and other factors, communicable diseases are taking a deadly toll on the people of PNG, with pneumonia, malaria, tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases, meningitis and, increasingly, HIV/AIDS, responsible for around 50% of all deaths.
The reality of living in PNG
Imagine for a moment that you were born and lived in PNG. Here’s what your reality might look like:
- Your life expectancy is 30% lower than if you were born in Australia - 57 years, compared to 81 years.
- You have a 1 in 5 chance of dying before the age of 40. (vii)
- Your government will have spent on average of only US$35 on your healthcare, versus Australia’s expenditure of US$2132 per person on healthcare. (ix)
- Babies born in PNG compared to those born in Australia are:
- 10 times more likely to die during their first
month or by the age of one (i, ii)
- 12 times more likely to die by the age of five (i, ii)
- If you are a pregnant woman you have a much greater risk of dying during childbirth or from pregnancy related causes, with a maternal mortality rate 118 times that of Australia’s. (i, ii)
- You will be sharing one doctor and approximately 15 nurses and midwives with 10,000 of your fellow citizens, compared to Australia’s ratio of 25 doctors and 97 nurses and midwives per 10,000 people.
- Your country accounts for more than 90% of the deaths of children under five in the Pacific region.
Jump to table showing comparisons between Australia and PNG.
Malaria
- Malaria is endemic to PNG, which not only has the highest incidence of malaria in the Western Pacific, but also the highest prevalence of its most dangerous strain, P.Falciparum, the cause of almost all deaths.
- Malaria is one of the leading causes of death in children. (iii)
- There were an estimated 1.5 million cases in 2006, resulting in almost 3,000 deaths. (iii)
Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis)
- Lymphatic filariasis is endemic to PNG. PNG has the highest infection rate in the world, with about half the population infected, and up to 80% in Western Province.
- Lymphatic filariasis is caused by microscopic parasitic worms, transmitted by mosquitoes, which attack the lymphatic system causing damage to organs, painful swelling of limbs, breasts and genitals, and sometimes death.
- About 5% of people who suffer from lymphatic filariasis will develop elephantiasis.
Find out more about ADI's lymphatic filariasis program.
Leprosy
- All but eradicated in most of PNG, leprosy remains a serious problem in Western Province.
- Western Province has the second highest incidence of leprosy in PNG.
- This ancient disease, which can now be successfully treated, is caused by bacteria and, if left untreated, can cause permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes.
Find out more about ADI’s leprosy program.
HIV and AIDS
- PNG has the highest incidence of HIV in the Pacific region. (iv)
- An estimated 64,000 people, or 2% of the adult population, are HIV positive. (iv)
- A recent report by AusAID found that unless more is done to address the impact of HIV/AIDS in PNG, by 2025 over 500,000 people will be living with the disease and the workforce will have declined by 12.5%. (v)
- HIV rates are significant in urban areas, such as Port Moresby, and in rural pockets, such as Western Province, whose numerous transport and migration routes and mining and logging sites make it a high-risk area for HIV infection.
Learn more about ADI's HIV and AIDS program.
- 6.5% of children die before their fifth birthday. (vi)
- 35% of children under five are underweight. (vii)
- One in 21 mothers dies during pregnancy or childbirth. (viii)
- Immunisation of children is very low, with vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough still claiming children’s lives.
Further reading
State of the World’s Children 2009, Unicef (2009)
download
PNG Country Health Information Profile
by WHO Western Pacific Region Health Databank (2007 rev.)
download
World Health Organisation - Regional Office for the Western Pacific
website
PNG Country Cooperation Strategy, WHO (2007)
download
Pre-Program Assessment for Health in Western Province - a report prepared for the PNG Sustainable Development Program Limited (2007)
download
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Per capita government expenditure on health
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US$2,132
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US$35
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81
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57
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Mortality rate (for children under five years)
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6 per 1,000 live births (i, ii)
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65 per 1,000 live births (ii)
73 per 1,000 live births (i)
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3 per 1,000 live births (i, ii)
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32 per 1000 live births (i,ii)
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4 per 100,0000 live births (i,ii)
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470 per 100,000 live births (i,ii)
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Infant mortality rate (for children under one year)
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5 per 1,000 live births (i, ii)
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50 per 1,000 live births (i,ii)
54 per 1000 live births (i)
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25 per 10,000 people
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1.26 per 10,000 people
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Ratio of nurses and midwives
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97 per 10,000 people
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15.3 per 10,000 people
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References
(i) World Health Statistics by WHO (2008)
(ii) Unicef State of the World’s Children (2009)
(iii) World Malaria Report by WHO (2008)
(iv) AusAID PNG country profile
(v) AusAID Impacts of HIV/AIDS 2005-2025 in PNG, Indonesia and East Timor (2006)
(vi) Unicef State of the World’s Children (2009)
(vii) UNDP Human Development Report for PNG (2007/2008)
(viii) Unicef State of the World’s Children 2009
(ix)World Health Statistics 2008, WHO (2008)
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