The National Government has provided K5.5 million in disaster relief funding to Manus Province as Minister for Health and National Disaster Services, Hon. Dr Billy Joseph, warns of increasing bushfire threats across Papua New Guinea amid the ongoing El Niño-induced drought.
Minister Joseph confirmed that an additional K500,000 had been provided by the National Disaster Centre to the Manus Disaster Trust Account, bringing the total funding to K5.5 million to support communities affected by bushfires, food and water shortages.
The Minister welcomed the successful containment of bushfires on Lou Island following a coordinated response involving 20 firefighters deployed from Port Moresby, the PNG Defence Force, National Fire Service, National Disaster Centre, Manus Provincial Government and local communities.
He commended the leadership of provincial authorities, community leaders and residents of Lou and neighbouring Rambutso Island for their cooperation in containing the fires.
However, Dr Joseph warned that satellite data from the Food and Agriculture Organization’s PNG Fire Watch dashboard had recorded 120,206 fire alerts nationwide between July 1 and October 20, 2026, representing 5.6 times the historical average for the same period between 2012 and 2025.
He said the alarming figures highlighted the urgent need to strengthen PNG’s national firefighting and disaster response capabilities.
Minister Joseph called for investment in modern firefighting equipment, including helicopters fitted with water-dropping buckets, additional fire trucks, trained firefighters and strategically located emergency response facilities.
He said every province must have adequate firefighting capacity to respond quickly to emergencies and protect lives, properties, food gardens and critical infrastructure.
The Minister also welcomed technical assistance from the United Nations, International Organization for Migration and Food and Agriculture Organization in strengthening disaster preparedness and early-warning systems.
Dr Joseph stressed that the Government’s immediate priority remained assisting vulnerable communities affected by drought, food shortages, water scarcity and bushfires.
“The priority is to protect our people now while strengthening our capacity to respond to future emergencies. We must act on the available evidence, improve coordination and ensure that national support reaches the communities that need it most,” Minister Joseph said.