PNG needs full HIV treatment
Junita Sol; 16/5/08
Papua New Guinea’s biggest problem in the campaign against HIV/AIDS is the lack of treatment for the disease. The UN HIV/AIDS commission for Asia Pacific region visited the country last week to assess the epidemic and its prevention campaign. The group stayed in Port Moresby and visited Goroka before announcing their assessment on areas that needed improvements. Chairman Dr Langi Kavaliku said more money was spent for the campaign against the disease but not much had been done to provide full treatment. “HIV/AIDS patients really need to be given full treatment for them to stay alive; prevention is just one aspect of the campaign,” Dr Kavaliku said.
May 18th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Helping to make a difference for PNG in Australia
My first exhibition dealing with People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) was in 2003 at the Brisbane Powerhouse, and coincided with World Aids Day, 1st December as does most of his exhibitions.
The major purpose of the artwork is social commentary. Maintaining community and government awareness of the issues relating to PLWA both locally and internationally is important to Peter.
I will be in Papua New Guinea from 20th to 29th June. The purpose of this visit is to shoot two series of photographs about the plight of PLWHA in Port Moresby. The fist series will focus on HIV+ women and how their families care for them and how they care for their families and the second series will concentrate on the orphans to HIV/AIDS.
It is important to me that the people of Australia and specifically in Queensland are aware and sympathetic to the plight of our closest neighbour, PNG. The Australian and PNG Governments need to do more to support PLWHA in PNG.
I will also visit a group of women who are making over one hundred bilums for an instillation artwork which will be exhibited with the two series of photographs later this year in Brisbane, Australia.
These artworks are in response to a statement made by Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, in 2007.
“In PNG and the neighbouring Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, HIV prevalence is increasing apace…” “Australia’s expertise and experience could be more extensively used.”
While these artworks are provocative they hopefully encourage people to consider the plight of PLWHA through out the world and specifically in Papua New Guinea.