By Adelaide Kari – EM TV News, Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea accounts for 89 per cent of all malaria cases in the Pacific region and malaria is found throughout all provinces. On average 1.5 to 1.8 million suspected cases of malaria are seen to at health care facilities across PNG every year.
China has made huge progress in malaria prevention and control in the past six decades and accumulated much firsthand experience in reducing the number of malaria cases.
Ambassador for the People’s Republic of China in Papua New Guinea, Li Ruiyo, at the launching of the trilateral partnership said that this would be the first of its kind in Asia Pacific. He said China’s experience would help eradicate malaria here in PNG.
Ruiyo provided an example of Malaysia and the success they have had in minimising the number of cases of malaria from 30 million to only 50 cases in 2015.
Over the next three years the Australian Aid program will provide K8 million in project funding and China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission will provide technical expertise.
Australian High Commissioner to PNG, Bruce Davis, said that the fact the three countries were coming together to help fight malaria was better than individual countries contributing to the fight alone.
Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS, Michael Malabag, thanked the government’s of Australia and China for their contributions in the fight against malaria.
