Association of Medical Doctors of ASIA, founded in 1984, Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC since 1995

Serving as a GOARN focal point, AMDA coordinated Dr. Hideharu Hagiya’s dispatch to Papua New Guinea for the work related to WHO Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO).

Dr. Hagiya is an infection prevention and control (IPC) expert at Okayama University Hospital in Okayama, Japan. He recently applied for a position offered by the said office concerning COVID-19-related management in Papua New Guinea.

GOARN, which stands for Global Outbreak Alert Response Network, is a WHO network of over 250 technical institutions that respond to acute public health events with the deployment of staff and resources to affected countries. Having been a GOARN partner for over a decade, AMDA has closely worked with the network by participating in its technical meetings or by inviting its experts to AMDA’s workshops.

The following report was submitted by Dr. Hagiya himself dated 10 January 2022:

“Hello, everyone. This is Dr. Hideharu Hagiya from Okayama University Hospital. From late last December until the middle of this February, I am posted to Papua New Guinea to join WHO WPRO’s COVID-19 response. I would like to thank AMDA for making this happen as we, individual experts, need a focal point in joining GOARN projects overseas.

“For now, my main task is to evaluate major medical facilities in Port Moresby and other provinces concerning COVID-19 countermeasures. Also, I am planning to hold the second IPC workshop in early February.

“How much are people outside aware of the COVID-19 situation in Papua New Guinea? The country isn’t the most COVID-affected nation as a whole. However, I am quite certain that the overall situation hasn’t been sufficiently studied as the country’s reporting system is not as timely as it could be.

“In addition, the vaccination coverage in Papua New Guinea is said to have been the lowest among other Western Pacific nations; only about 2% of overall population has been inoculated at this point. It is also possible to add that multiple factors such as religious matters, myths, personal beliefs and rumors might be hampering the inoculation despite the nation’s ample stock of vaccines.

“Starting this week, I am finally able to visit the local medical facilities for observation and instruction. As an IPC specialist, I would like to do my utmost in improving the current infection-control standards in Papua New Guinea by providing appropriate assessment and suggestions to local authorities.“