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Today is World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. Every year ChildFund Australia marks the occasion by raising awareness about one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. TB has devastating health, social and economic consequences for people around the world – but particularly for the world’s most vulnerable children and young people.

Every day around the world, 4,100 people die from TB and one in 10 people with it is a child.In Papua New Guinea, the rate of infection is one of the highest in the world.

Olve Ha, Head of Health Program in ChildFund Papua New Guinea

We caught up with Olive Oa (pictured left) ChildFund Papua New Guinea Health Program Manager, to hear how they are continuing to support children and young people to access vital health services to diagnose and treat TB.

What is the current TB situation in PNG?

Papua New Guinea experiences extremely high rates of TB across the country, particularly when compared to the rest of the world. This is largely due to lack of access to health care and low rates of immunisation.

In the Central Province, TB is still very common in the communities and health centres we work in. Here, there are 15 health centres that diagnose and support patients who test positive for TB. All 15 health centres have at least one staff trained to care for and manage TB patients. ChildFund works in six health facilities in the surrounding area.

What is CFPNG doing to address these issues?

We set up a  genetic testing machine to test for Tuberculosis in Bereina, Kwikila, and Porebada. In Bereina, the testing machines run on solar power.

We have trained 60 TB Treatment supporters across the six communities to support patients who have been diagnosed with TB and provide them with the right treatment. After an individual is diagnosed with TB, they are sent home and their closest treatment centre is notified so they can continue to access care and medication.

Many of those working at the treatment centre are trained community health volunteers.

What progress has been made since starting these activities?

We have continued to ensure that these testing centres are operational, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Bereina Health Centre, we set up a standby generator that can provide electricity when solar power isn’t available. We are also planning for a refresher training for the Kairuku District Health workers to provide more information about treating TB.

What challenges is CFPNG facing in treating TB?

In my experience, there are several major challenges that we face. Firstly, many of these patients come from very remote village in the communities we work in. The roads are so bad that cars cannot access them for weeks at a time. Also, people with suspected TB often wait until they are very sick before they reach out for help meaning their treatment is delayed. Finally, although the community health volunteers provide good support, they are often under-resourced as we don’t have enough funds to support this work.

What is ChildFund doing next to support individuals with TB in PNG?

We need to improve the capacity of health workers at every health centre. Right now, 80% of the health work force is community health workers. All health facilities undertaking TB work should be supported with the right training, communication and solar power that can provide basic microscopy testing, lighting, and electricity.

This World Water Day, ChildFund in Laos is working across rural and remote of the country to ensure that children and young people can access safe, clean water in their homes.

Khamdee, 30-years-old, is a mother to three young children and lives in a remote village in Huaphanh province, her home perched on top of the steep slope of the mountains. She walks up to nine kilometres every day to provide safe water to her family.

In 2015 a water tank was built by the community near her home, but it wasn’t big enough to supply water to all 300 homes in the village and over time the tank cracked and broke down.

Many children in the village were sent by their parents to collect water from a nearby stream. But Khamdee knows how dangerous and difficult this trip could be and has never allowed her children to make the journey.

“Carrying water all the way back home is heavy,” she said. “The stream is in the lowlands, about four kilometres away from my home. Sometimes we must walk eight kilometres to get enough water. My husband and I have to carry two 18L barrels each twice a day — once in the morning before we head to the farm, and another after coming back home in the evening.”

Some days, she would have to make three trips so everyone in her family could have safe drinking water and water for hygiene. This placed a significant burden on Khamdee, who is already responsible for her young children, and running her household and the family farm. She said every day was exhausting.

ChildFund in Laos partnered with local authorities and organisations to rebuild the water tank and create a plumbing system in Phoupied village so that every household could have access to safe, running water at any time of day.

They also installed a water meter in each household to monitor water usage. Each household pays for how much water they use and these funds are then used to maintain the water tank and plumbing system, to ensure it is sustainable.

“I was so happy when I heard that a new water tank was going to be constructed for our village,” said Khamdee. “To have running water available in our homes is amazing. I can cook, do our laundry, bathe, and have clean and safe drinking water to give to my children anytime.”

In partnership with Save the Children, CARE, and Comité de Coopération avec le Laos (CCL), the ‘Sustainable Change Achieved through Linking Improved Nutrition and Governance’(SCALING)project seeks to improve food, water and nutrition security among rural areas in the Huaphanh Province.

The project focusses on improving nutrition in adolescent girls, and pregnant and lactating women. ChildFund’s SCALING activities is funded by the European Union and works in three villages and a total of 14 districts in Huaphanh.