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Papua New Guinea: Highlands Earthquake Situation Report No. 10 (as of 28 May 2018)

Countries
PNG
Sources
Govt. PNG
+ 2 more
Publication date

Background

  • 270,000 people are in need of assistance across four provinces of Papua New Guinea’s highlands.

  • 11,761 households (approximately 58,300 people) remain displaced, of which 1,672 households are staying in eleven care centres while 10,089 households remain with host communities.

  • 8,362 children under 5 years have been vaccinated against Measles-Rubella (MR), while 1,861 infants have received Pentavalent vaccinations.

  • 5,803 children have been screened for Severe Acute Malnutrition of which 20 were identified and treated.

  • An operational planning group was established to facilitate implementation of relief activities in Hela province.

Situation Overview

The latest figures available from the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) implemented as part of the Shelter/CCCM Cluster response, indicate that 11,761 households (approximately 58,300 people) remain displaced, of which 1,672 households are staying in eleven care centres while 10,089 households are staying with host communities. The number of people registered as staying in care centres continues to fluctuate, and the overall number of affected communities may rise as new information becomes available.

According to latest information, most schools in Hela have resumed classes at the start of May.

The Disaster Management Team (DMT) undertook a mid-term operational review of the current DMT Earthquake Response Plan from 17-18 May in Port Moresby. The objective was to take stock of humanitarian partners’ response, identify need for any course correction for their response; and outline an agreed approach to transition from response to recovery. Aside from humanitarian partners, the government and key private sector participated in the review. Key outcomes include a broad confirmation of current sectoral and coordination priorities and an agreement of the need to initiate recovery activities, where possible, while response activities continued. A report of the operational review is currently being finalised.

Since 28 March, most humanitarian programmes in and around Tari, the provincial capital of Hela province, have been suspended due to increased tension and inter-communal fighting. Many partners have temporarily relocated humanitarian staff to other locations, including to the Southern Highlands provincial capital, Mendi, in view of the situation. Due to restricted humanitarian access, an operational planning group for land-based relief activities in Hela province was established on 16 May. The group, comprising implementing agencies/organisations, will focus on close coordination between implementing agencies/organisations and developing a joint/integrated programme for target locations within Hela province. The Hela operational planning group is working closely with the PNG Government to identify down-scaled permissible locations based on latest information of the security situation in Hela province. Land-based relief operations in Hela are expected to resume incrementally from early June.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.