THE National Volunteer Service (NVS) of Papua New Guinea in its volunteer recruitment campaign across the Highlands Region aims to strengthen health service delivery in Enga province.
Speaking during a meeting with the Enga Provincial Health Authority, NVS Public Relations & Marketing Director, Julie Raka, said that the organization is working closely with provincial administrations and provincial health authorities to identify areas where volunteers can help address critical service delivery gaps.
“We are going province by province to build partnerships to recruit volunteers that will improve service delivery, especially in rural and hard-to-reach communities,” Ms Raka said.
“The recruitment targets skilled volunteers such as community health workers, teachers, agriculture officers and other skilled individuals with the heart to serve in remote communities,”
Enga Provincial Health Authority (EPHA) Acting Director for Corporate Services, Bernard Philipae, welcomed the initiative, highlighting the important role that volunteers can play in improving health service coverage, particularly in remote areas where access remains a challenge.
“We look forward to working closely with the National Volunteer Service to increase the number of Community Health Workers (CHWs) serving throughout the province, ultimately improving healthcare access and outcomes for the people of Enga,” said Mr Phillipae.
“CHW Volunteers are very important people that through their work have been able to cover many places that health teams could not easily reach and Enga’s difficult terrain continues to pose major challenges for healthcare delivery, making health volunteers a valuable link between health facilities and the rural population,” he said.
Mr Phillipae added that CHWs were already contributing significantly to vaccination awareness campaigns in parts of Enga Province where through village health volunteers (VHV) networks, health messages have been delivered to remote communities, helping parents bring children for immunization and improving vaccination coverage.
“Because of the situation in Enga, VHVs would greatly help bring this very critical service to communities outside of Wabag town as well as to share information and support health teams in reaching those communities,” he said.
Mr Philipae also revealed that a pilot village volunteer program introduced in parts of Lagaip District had delivered positive results, particularly in increasing awareness and participation in child vaccination programs.
Discussions between NVS and EPHA also explored the possibility of a formal partnership to support volunteer deployment and welfare arrangements in the province.
Both NVS and EPHA expressed optimism that the partnership would strengthen essential services, expand healthcare access in remote communities, and contribute to Enga’s broader development goals.
The Highlands recruitment drive is expected to continue over the coming weeks in Hela, Western Highlands, Jiwaka, Simbu and Eastern Highlands as NVS engages with Provincial Governments and stakeholders to secure support for the nationwide volunteer deployment program.
The recruitment drive forms part of the government’s directive under NEC Decision 33 of 2025, which tasks NVS with recruiting 900 volunteers in 2026 and a further 2,900 volunteers in 2027 to support service delivery nationwide.