A church representative says very little of last year's allocation was paid out anyway.

Church-led health services are already being strained at a time when Western Province communities are struggling with a prolonged drought.

A Catholic Health Co-ordinator in Kiunga, Sister Anna Sanginawa, said the church is running out of drugs which it has to buy with its own funds from pharmaceutical companies in Port Moresby.

"That's why we have to find money elsewhere to get the money to buy drugs from the pharmacies and they are expensive, you know. The pharmacies also are putting up high costs."

She said the church's ability to keep helping people get the treatment they need is severely affected by the lack of government assistance.

Sister Anna adds that many communities in drought-impacted regions of Western Province are still waiting for the government relief assistance.

The health cuts are part of an overall reduction in Church-State Partnership Programme.

EMTV reports that a meeting took place in Port Moresby on Thursday to review implementation reports from 2014 to 2015 where some partners raised issues of funding.

Archbishop Clyde Igara, of the Anglican Church, said they did not receive any of their allocated funding.

"We must have waited too long to cash the education cheque because it bounced back by the time we tried to cash it," he said while adding that the health component of their funding did not come through at all.

The meeting also heard that the secretariat that administers the programmes has not been receiving the funds it needed.

Currently, the secretariat is hosted by the United Church and they have used over K89,000 for operation costs.

Kali Sete, the United Church's Development Secretary said this is straining an already limited amount of money they have and they will not be able to continue after May if they don't get funding from the government to support the Secretariat.

Abel told EMTV News that all the funds that the United Church have used will be reimbursed and that the Anglican Church will finally receive their allocated funds.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• emtv.com.
• Image: nfhsdp.org

‘An estimated 13 million people are in grave danger,' says Caritas Director Julianne Hickey. ‘This has been brought on by severe drought, poor harvests, and rising food prices - made worse by regional conflict.'

‘Drought is a natural phenomenon, but famine is caused by human action - or inaction,' she says. Hundreds of thousands of people died needlessly in the Horn of Africa last year because the international community took too long to respond. Eventually, concerted action by humanitarian agencies helped avert a far greater disaster in most of the affected countries. ‘There is no excuse for people to die of hunger in our world today,' says Ms Hickey.

New Zealand's Foreign Minsiter Murray McCully also announced on Wednesday that the Government will provide $1 million to a United Nations food relief programme in the Sahel.

Donations to Caritas for the Sahel crisis can be made by:

• Phoning 0800 22 10 22 to make credit card donations or
• Donating online using a credit card at www.caritas.org.nz or
• Posting to Caritas, PO Box 12193, Thorndon, Wellington 6144, New Zealand.

The international Caritas network is providing a coordinated response across five of the most severely affected countries in the Sahel - Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mauritania. In Niger alone, about 5.5 million people face hunger because of drought. Without assistance, communities are being forced to rely on traditional coping mechanisms. Some of these practices can make things worse in the long-term, such as burning trees to make charcoal or selling-off of livestock.

Caritas is distributing essential food to the most vulnerable; seeds and agricultural inputs for planting; and setting up both Food for Work and Cash for Work programmes. Young children, and pregnant and breast-feeding women, are the focus of special food assistance. The Caritas network is also establishing emergency water, hygiene and sanitation facilities in Niger, as thousands of refugees flee fighting in northern Mali between the country's army and a rebel group.

‘Intervention now will help prevent a catastrophic event such as we saw in the Horn of Africa,' says Ms Hickey.

Caritas Humanitarian Programmes Officer Mark Mitchell has just returned from Kenya, where he saw the difference that good, effective relief programmes made after last year's Horn of Africa drought.

‘Lessons have been learnt from the Horn of Africa,' says Mr Mitchell, ‘in terms of responding quicker and noticing the warning signs and thresholds of hardship earlier.'

‘I've seen the importance of Food for Work schemes in putting in place better water supplies, using better collection methods and improving access to water in the long term.'

Source

• Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Radio New Zealand
• Image: The Guardian

The Foreign Minsister, Murray McCully, has been criticised by aid agencies and opposition parties with claims of "unacceptable delays" in providing the money. McCully issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying that money has been allocated to four non-government organisations following a due diligence process.

Mr McCully promised $2 million six weeks ago for Somalia and neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa. There is no word on the other $1 million.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has pledged NZ$50,000 towards the food and refugee crisis unfolding in the Horn of Africa, and is accepting donations from the public.

'We are working through partners on the ground in Kenya and Tanzania, and through other agencies from the international Caritas network,' says Director Michael Smith.

'This crisis represents a huge challenge for aid agencies and the international community,' he said. 'More than 10 million people in the Horn of Africa require emergency assistance due to prolonged drought conditions.'

Donations to Caritas can be made by phoning 0800 22 10 22 or donating online at www.caritas.org.nz.

Source

• Radio New Zealand
• Image: Vimeo.com