Something has got to give

 TO the Madang provincial government and administration, Long Island remains one of the greatest challenges of delivering services due to its isolation.  

Keeping the health clinic and the school open all year round to serve the local population has not always been possible and public servants are understandably reluctant to take up any posting there.

Madang is a province of great diversity including outlying islands, rugged mountainous terrain and rivers. It is also prone to natural disasters. 

The Manam Island volcano itself has had its strain on the province’s resolve to respond to disasters.

The province’s ability to respond to or mitigate natural disasters and provide immediate relief assistance to those in need has been lethargic. 

The reason for that, as explained yet again by provincial disaster coordinator Norman Philemon, is the lack of government funding.

Both the provincial disaster coordinator and the provincial government have been made aware of the Long Island drought months before the Lutheran Church produced an assessment of the situation there.  

Philemon is now waiting for about K350,000 for relief assistance to the island.

Due to the remoteness of the island, it would take more than half of that amount to be expended on operational costs, which we understand to include the cost of coastal vessels or dinghies to ferry those supplies.  

It seems that the provincial disaster office in Madang exists in name only.  Annual funding by the provincial government is mainly for administrative costs and very little else for emergency response and relief assistance.

This is the reason why, having known the Long Island drought months back, the provincial disaster office has been incapable of doing anything for the sick and dying people.

Disaster and emergency operations in Madang need a complete overhaul and annual funding deserving of an office that would stand ready to click into action when required. 

It is a deadly gamble with human lives to wait for disasters to strike and wait some more for government money to be made available.

How long will it take for relief assistance to reach the suffering islanders and how many more people will die before that happens? 

We understand that Governor Jim Kas and his provincial administrator have been made aware of the situation on Long Island but it seems they have turned a blind eye on these unfortunate people.

As usual, red tape gets in the way of rapid response.

Philemon says he is waiting for the district administrator to submit a follow-up report on the situation, which he will submit to the governor and the provincial administrator.

A situation report was compiled by Lutheran Church officials and sent to Philemon’s office last Thursday.

Why does the provincial disaster coordinator need a follow-up report from the district administrator before he seeks relief assistance from the provincial government and administration?

The initial report should be current enough for Philemon to rush out of his office and seek urgent relief assistance from Governor Kas and his provincial administrator.

This report says that 8,000 people in 15 villages have been severely affected by the six-month long drought. There has been no rain on Long Island since June.

The startling revelation is that 19 people are confirmed dead from eating wild plam buds and shoots that are collected and pulped into sago-like paste. There is widespread malnutrition, starvation and increasing cases of food poisoning.

Furthermore, the report says that children are prone to an outbreak of diarrhoea, influenza and other related diseases if nothing is done quickly to alleviate the drought situation with relief assistance.

There is an urgent need for safe and clean drinking water, food and relief supplies.

Despite this accurate assessment by church officials, who are on the ground and in touch with the suffering islanders, the provincial disaster officer remains unconvinced and wants the district administrator to do a follow-up report.

What utter nonsense!

Don’t these public servants realise that people’s lives are at risk and in grave danger unless they receive urgent relief and medical assistance?

It’s time for the National Disaster Office to intervene and take control of the Long Island drought situation 

before any more lives are lost.