St Margaret's Hospital in Papua New Guinea

One of the staff houses at St Margaret's Hospital. Photo: Russell Thompson/ABM 2011

This project needs $200,000 in 2012.

ABM has been working with our partner, the Anglican Church of PNG, to refurbish St Margaret’s Clinic in Oro Bay over the past couple of years. The aim of the refurbishment has been to upgrade it to a Level 4 hospital, which will complement the state-run Popondetta General Hospital, and also contain a specialised facility for the testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, and an obstetrics section.

Donations have already contributed to equipping the clinic so that it can get accredited as a hospital, as well as employing an overseer for the work on refurbishment and setting up the required management structure.

This work is continuing. The need now is for proper housing for good staff to be attracted to work at the facility. Currently there are only two staff houses, and a further 13 are required.

The PNG government will hopefully assist with some of the houses but ABM and Anglicans in Australia have been asked to provide three kit homes next year. These will be sourced in PNG and built by local people, contributing to the building experience of locals and development of the community.

Another necessity is for the sinking of a well to provide clean water for the hospital and the staff houses. The existing water source has become contaminated by E. coli due to expansion of settlement further up the water course. Professional advice is that it will be almost impossible to remove this level of contamination from the existing water source. The well will be sunk to a level below this contamination.

There has been much progress at St Margaret’s, the rebuilding is virtually completed and Sr Mildred Laksen has been appointed as Director of the new facility. However, there is more work needed.

- a three bedroom staff house costs approximately $40,000 to build from a kit
- another $40,000 is the cost to sink the much-needed well.
Please support this project so that this hospital can achieve its upgrade and benefit the health of many locals.

Donations to this program are tax deductible.

HOW CAN I DONATE?

You can make an online donation to this project by selecting St Margaret's Hospital in PNG from the full project list.

Alternatively, for donations by cheque/money order (made out to the Anglican Board of Mission - Australia), telephone or email, view contact details here.

(Project information will be available soon.)