Australian High Commission
Papua New Guinea

PNG-Australia Partnership dedicated to providing safe, reliable and clean water supply for communities in PNG

In celebration of World Water Day on Friday 22 March, the Incentive Fund, supported by the Papua New Guinea-Australia Partnership, is highlighting projects dedicated to providing access to safe and reliable water to rural communities in Papua New Guinea.

Access to safe and reliable water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities is a basic need and right for people everywhere. However, in some remote parts of the world, providing access to clean and reliable water sources for communities is an immense challenge.

The Incentive Fund has partnered with the Environmental Health Development Agency (EHDA) and the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) to implement two WASH programs throughout Morobe Province and Kavieng District in New Ireland Province.

The  WASH pilot project delivered by EHDA aims to improve the health standards and livelihoods of more than 11,000 people in 15 communities across Morobe by providing access to clean and safe water by 2020. 

The Incentive Fund is also supporting ADRA to improve the well-being of around 12,000 people in several rural communities in Kavieng District through the provision of water and sanitation, adult literacy training and climate change adaptation interventions.

The support towards these two projects are in line with the Papua New Guinea National WASH Policy 2015–2030, more men, women, children and people living with disabilities and HIV/AIDS will receive 20 litres of water each day through reliable water supply technology and will benefit from Ventilated Improved Pit latrines that comply with the National Department of Health standards.

Women’s empowerment and the inclusion of people with disability and HIV/AIDS is at the core of both projects, with each organisation consulting community members to ensure all WASH facilities and community-centred initiatives are developed with the specific and unique needs of these groups.