PORT MORESBY – The governor of Papua New Guinea’s Chimbu province says recent rains have done nothing to ease the severe drought.

Much of the Highlands region is in the grip of a severe drought brought on by the current El Niño system, with an estimated three million people suffering from food and water shortages.

Noah Kool says about 100,000 people are affected in his province, with most crops dead and streams fast drying up.

He says the province experienced heavy rain last week for the first time in months, but that has done little to help.

“Some parts of the provinces, they have experienced a lot of rain. But most parts of the provinces, they are still suffering now and more and more people are coming to my office seeking help, and I can’t help.”

Kool says the money allocated to the province by the national government for relief supplies is not enough, and it is fast running out.

He says the situation in the Highlands is very serious and unlikely to end any time soon, with the El Niño forecast to last well into next year.

While the drought is widespread across Papua New Guinea, the high altitude regions are additionally affected by frost occurrences that destroyed food gardens and vegetation in affected areas.

Livelihoods of people are now severely affected and food shortages are imminent, besides risks associated with lack of access to clean drinking water and arising health problems.

It is forecast that the monsoon rains will be shortened to December 2015 to February 2016 and the El Niño drought will last until June 2016.

A non-government organisation research into the current situation and impact of drought in East Sepik has found that more people are getting sick from drinking and cooking from contaminated water.

The El Niño weather pattern has brought with it limited rainfall over the country affecting over two million people.

Save the Children stated in its assessment report that the dry period has dried up rivers and wells that villagers use for their daily need increasing cases of diarrhoea and skin disease.

The assessment carried out in nine villagers covering the districts of Wewak, Angoram and Gawi also found that “lack of access to water was also found to be negatively impacting education as many schools have either closed completely or drastically reduced their hours due to water shortages.”

The NGO has recommended the deployment of a mobile medical team to support the existing health facilities to identify and treat any emerging health issues, especially in remote areas.

Seeds from drought resistant sweet potatoes will soon be distributed to the most affected frost areas of the Highlands Region and parts of Morobe Province.

The National Agriculture Resource Institute (NARI) is in the process of cloning the potato which will be distributed to Fresh Produce Development Company for nursing.

The seeds will he provided to the Western Highlands Sweet Potato Corporative Society Limited to be distributed to its 50 members.

Each member will distribute 30 bags of potato seeds each month to their own villages, households and individuals who have farms or land and are ready to plant.

Business consultants of the National Council of Women Highlands Region are helping to identify the most affected areas for the potato seeds to be distributed.

Business consultant Rachael Aine said women in the villages are the most affected as they don’t have enough food to feed their families after frost destroyed their garden crops.

She said this initiative will assist them get back on their feet to feed their families and for income generation.

- PNC sources