MINISTER for Health, Hon. Dr. Billy Joseph, MP, has called for urgent national action to strengthen Papua New Guinea’s health workforce and improve access to reliable care, particularly in rural and remote communities.
Opening the National Consultation on Strengthening Health and Care Workforce Production in Papua New Guinea at APEC Haus today, Minister Joseph said persistent workforce shortages leave facilities understaffed and communities without reliable access to quality care.
“Despite almost twenty years of reform and significant investment, health outcomes have not improved at the scale or speed our people
deserve. Changing this will require accountable leadership and coordinated implementation across the health system,” Minister Joseph said.
The Minister outlined three linked priorities: determine the number and mix of workers needed; expand training capacity while protecting quality; and connect graduates to funded positions, effective deployment and long-term retention where they are most needed.
These priorities must guide implementation of the National Health Infrastructure Plan 2025–2035. Every new or upgraded facility must have trained staff, funded positions and workable deployment arrangements before construction proceeds.
He emphasised that workforce planning must start with the services communities need, the competencies required and the workers best placed to provide them. This evidence should guide realistic national and provincial training targets.
“Training targets must reflect institutional capacity and sustainable financing. Expansion must protect the quality of education and training,” he said.
“Graduates must be ready to provide safe, respectful and effective care. Training numbers must align with funded positions, recruitment and deployment so health workers can serve — and remain — in the communities where they are most needed,” he said.
The consultation is expected to turn these priorities into an agreed national workforce action plan.
Minister Joseph thanked the World Health Organization and the Governments of Australia and China for supporting workforce preparedness and public health capacity.
“No health facility can function without the people needed to deliver its services. This consultation must turn years of discussion into coordinated decisions, funded action and measurable implementation,” Minister Joseph said.
Minister Joseph then officially declared the consultation open.