Skip to content
Erias - celebrating 10 years
  • About
    • About ERIAS
    • Meet the team
  • Services
    • Planning and Permitting
    • Social Impact and Corporate Sustainability
    • Environmental and Social Management
    Menu
    • Planning and Permitting
    • Social Impact and Corporate Sustainability
    • Environmental and Social Management
    • Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
    • Marine Sciences
    • Surface and Groundwater Investigations
    Menu
    • Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
    • Marine Sciences
    • Surface and Groundwater Investigations
    • Climate Change and GHG Emissions
    • Decommissioning, Closure and Rehabilitation
    • Geospatial Services
    Menu
    • Climate Change and GHG Emissions
    • Decommissioning, Closure and Rehabilitation
    • Geospatial Services
  • Projects
    • All Projects
    • PNG Projects
  • News
  • Contact Us
Search
Close
Erias - celebrating 10 years
Search
Close
Erias - celebrating 10 years
Search
Close

ERIAS Group donates life-saving TB testing equipment to Kapuna Health Centre in Papua New Guinea

Having conducted environmental and social baseline and impact assessment studies for resource projects in some of the most remote parts of Papua New Guinea our team at ERIAS Group are well aware of the logistical challenges of providing health care and other basic services to the remote village communities. So when the opportunity arose for ERIAS Group to provide support to the Kapuna Health Centre in Gulf Province, we were only too pleased to be able to assist and make a real difference to the lives of the communities who have hosted our teams during our field work.

Kapuna Health Centre
Kapuna Health Centre on the banks of the Wame River, in the remote floodplains of Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea

Having conducted environmental and social baseline and impact assessment studies for resource projects in some of the most remote parts of Papua New Guinea our team at ERIAS Group are well aware of the logistical challenges of providing health care and other basic services to the remote village communities. So when the opportunity arose for ERIAS Group to provide support to the Kapuna Health Centre in Gulf Province, we were only too pleased to be able to assist and make a real difference to the lives of the communities who have hosted our teams during our field work.

In February this year representatives from ERIAS Group, with logistical support from our client, Total E&P PNG Limited, arrived at Kapuna Health Centre in Gulf Province with a donation of a GeneXpert IV machine to provide rapid diagnosis of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). This donation came at a critical time, with early cases of MDR-TB being detected in the Kapuna area in late 2017. Accurate and early diagnosis is essential to ensure patients receive the correct treatment and minimising the spread of MDR-TB through the community. Previously samples were required to be sent by boat from Kapuna to Kikori with results taking several weeks to return, and so infected patients would remain undiagnosed for some time increasing the risk of the disease spreading through the community.

Staff from Kapuna Health Centre receive the GeneXpert machine accompanied by ERIAS Group company directors, Carmel Coyne and Michael Wright

Dr Valerie Archer and her staff at the Kapuna Health Centre are dedicated to delivering critical aid to the region, which includes mobile health patrols that provide essential health services to remote aid posts and communities including immunisations, water and sanitation training and more recently a tuberculosis awareness and prevention program. Having on-site MDR-TB diagnostic capability further expands the medical services able to be offered by the Kapuna Health Centre, and in particular supports the early detection and treatment of MDR-TB.

Click here to read a more in depth account in the PNG Resources online magazine.

Previous PNG is rapidly changing, but some things stay the same Next COVID-19 Provides an Opportunity for Local Capacity Building

Got a question?

Get in touch

© ERIAS Group Pty Ltd 2021 ABN 28 155 087 362

Website: Digital Evolution