The people on Bougainville Atolls are recovering from a wave of waterborne diseases after being hit with high sea-level and draught.
The Atolls communities of Nissan, the Carterets, Mortlock, Fead and Tasman have suffered from drought and rising sea level since December, 2024.
Director for community and government Atolls Tony Kauworo said the people are slowly recovering from the impact but are still facing challenges to find fresh water.
He said they depend on bore or well water for domestic consumption but following the rise in sea level, they cannot trust the water holes because many people are becoming ill after using contaminated water.
“Situation is slowly getting better after few rainy days in the area,” Kauworo said.
“We were really hit hard by high sea-level, draught and now the waterborne diseases, especially cases of diarrhea and flu. Luckily the United Nations responded with a health team. What we really need now is more medication.”
He said the Atolls received support on April after almost three months but no death was reported.
“It’s a disaster that started sometime ago in around December 2024 that destroyed gardens and well-waterholes where the people get water from,” Kauworo added.
According to the disaster assessment report Nukumanu or Tasman Group of Islands alone with the populations of 1,034 residents is facing a challenge with children age from 5-10 years old recovering from diarrhea and flu.
Kauworo also said they received about K1.3 million funding from Autonomous Bougainville Government to assist the Atolls with food supply and other necessities especially water tanks until the communities recover.
He said they need more water tanks for the communities to store water as he thanked the government and the non-government agencies for their assistance in providing funding and relieve supplies.
“I mat with Care International PNG and we are going to supply more thanks,” to the Atolls.
“We are planning to sustain the Islands for the next six months,” Kauworo said.
He also added that the irregular change in the weather pattern is an effect of climate change that the Atolls communities will learn to live with and they have to assess the area to find long term solutions going forward.
