Child Poverty in Papua New Guinea: Health care and Education

Child Poverty in Papua New GuineaChildren in Papua New Guinea (PNG) represent kinship, community and unity. Yet, many of them suffer neglect. Child poverty in Papua New Guinea has left 41% of the country’s children living in difficult conditions. There is an increasing level of concern for the lack of education and health care in the country.

Education

Only 35% of students complete primary school due to factors such as poor teacher training, low enrollment levels as well as the long and dangerous journeys many children have to embark on to get to school. A 2010 report found that the PNG government was failing to educate around 2 million elementary and primary school-aged children. This also carries into adulthood, with an estimated half of the population unable to read or write.

Unfortunately, young girls are more often the ones who miss out on education as they are more at risk on journeys to school and the education system is less accommodating to them. This explains why their primary school attendance is 7% less than boys. Although there are many implications to this, one significant impact is that girls are more vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse and become dependent on marriage. This has resulted in an estimated 27% of the female population going into marriage by their 18th birthday.

Improving Education

The crisis of education in PNG has reached the global community. Australia, in particular, has committed to helping raise education levels in PNG. Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd and Michael Somare are dedicated to raising PNG’s basic education attendance to 70%. Efforts have involved subsidies and investments to remove school fees, the building of more schoolhouses and the provision of better teacher training.

Health Care

The lack of access to basic health care impacts child poverty in PNG. Infant mortality rates and childhood malnutrition have been the highest in that region of Asia. Statistics have revealed that nearly half of children between 6 to 59 months suffer from stunting and 16% of children under the age of 5 are too thin for their height.

Another good indication of health care levels among children is immunization rates, which is again lacking in PNG with the past decades’ immunization rates stagnating at 60%. In fact, COVID-19 was a huge hit to the general vaccination rates in the country. Many new mothers were skeptical about the new pandemic vaccine and this led to new concerns for other standard immunizations. The third dose of the vital DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) injection, for example, plummeted in dosage from 64% to 31% between 2009 and 2022.

Improving Health Care

PNG’s neighboring country, Australia, has played an important role in supporting the health care systems. Also, with the help of World Vision International, Australia is helping to address child health care issues in PNG through a variety of routes. One solution the country has implemented is to increase education on nutrition and encourage more healthy eating driven by locally available ingredients. Through investments in health care, around 28,628 people in PNG have been provided with access to essential medical treatments.

Looking Ahead

Despite the challenges that children in PNG face, efforts are underway to improve their education and health care conditions. Initiatives supported by Australia and organizations like World Vision International are helping to raise education levels, remove barriers to school attendance and provide better teacher training. Additionally, investments in health care are addressing child health issues, increasing access to essential medical treatments and promoting nutrition education. These endeavors offer hope for the alleviation of child poverty in Papua New Guinea.

 
– Daisy How
Photo: Flickr