On the 23 August to celebrate World Humanitarian Day UNIC Canberra organised a Diplomatic briefing via Webex by the UN Resident Coordinator, Papua New Guinea, Mr Roy Trivedy.
The briefing was focused on the El Nino climate pattern over the last year, its impact on Papua New Guinea and the corresponding humanitarian efforts to assist communities.
Beginning his briefing, Mr Trivedy said that the El Nino brought with it severe drought and frosts which was catastrophic for a country like Papua New Guinea which has 80 percent of its population heavily reliant of subsistence agriculture.
He explained the various impacts of the El Nino and how communities struggled to cope. One main issue was the lack of rainfall which resulted in the rivers and rainwater catchments drying up leading to a drastic decrease in access to clean water for drinking, cooking and washing. And where communities were reliant on waterways for transport the drop in water level caused difficulties in accessing markets, he said.
In addition to these problems drought created food shortages and food insecurity as food gardens wouldn't grow - resulting in some communities having to rely on wild crops and berries which is generally regarded as famine food, he added.
Mr Trivedy also explained how education and health facilities were affected with many schools in the country having to close as both teachers and students needed to travel longer distances to find water and food. In the area of health - water shortages created more hardship for pregnant women as often they had to bring their own water to the clinics to assist in the post delivery stage.
In response to the worsening situation, Mr Trivedy explained how the UN and partners addressed and are continuing to address these situations.
In addition to their ongoing work, in January/February the UN conducted a nation-wide assessment and it was found that 1.4 million people were regarded as severe food insecure and up to 200,000 people extremely food secure - the latter meaning that people were having to manage on one meal a day or even skip the one meal a day.
A Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) appeal was then launched for 37 million dollars with the funds targeted for life saving delivery of food and nutrition support. In addition to this water and sanitation in health facilities and also in agricultural recovery is being targeted.
Only 39 percent of the CERF appeal has been funded to date, he said.
In answer to a question on where things in Papua New Guinea are tracking now Mr Trivedy said that in March/April this year, many parts of the country had good rainfall, in fact, he added, part of the current worry is the El Nina and issues around landslides impacting on some communities.
However he noted that there are still some parts of the country where rainfall has been erratic so some communities require continued support and consequently the UN and partners will assist the most vulnerable where possible.
But, Mr Trivedy stressed, the aim is not to try and provide one hundred percent supply to everybody partially because there is not the resources - but also it is vital to continue to work with provincial coordinators to ensure that the traditional coping mechanisms and family support mechanisms are not undermined.
In his final remarks he stated that the UN clearly recognizes Papua New Guinea as a clearly affected country by the El Nino and changes in climate in general and is continuing to work with the national government on disaster planning for the medium and longer term.
Equally,he said, that the UN recognizes that it is really important to ensure that communities in Papua New Guinea become more aware of the Sustainable Development Goals and for the communities themselves to work with partners to achieve theses goals - working together, towards better lives for all.
For audio of the briefing : https://soundcloud.com/uniccanberra/world-humanitarian-day-briefing-on-un-humanitarian-work-in-png-by-un-chief-png-roy-trivedy
