Accompanying the Secretary were the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, the Honorable Mark Dybul, M.D.; the Assistant Administrator for Global Health at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Honorable Kent Hill, Ph.D.; and the U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator, RADM Tim Ziemer (USN, ret.).
{mosimage}HHS Personnel Aboard the USS Peleliu Bring Assistance to Papua New Guinea
LT Tracy Branch examines a patient in Bunabun, Papua New Guinea.
The day after the USS Peleliu docked, U.S. Navy Seabees took part in an engineering civil assistance program in Josephstaal, a remote village in Papua New Guinea. The project included remodeling and refurbishing three medical clinics, installing a water collection system and drilling a well for the village of 9,000 people, who warmly welcomed and assisted the Pacific Partnership team.
Members of the HHS Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps onboard the USS Peleliu contributed to the provision of medical care to approximately 4,000 patients. In addition, HHS environmental health experts tested water sources in the communities, and advised local health officials on sanitation and disease-prevention strategies.
In addition to specialists from the U.S. Navy and HHS, the Pacific Partnership includes volunteers from other nations – including Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore and New Zealand – and several non-governmental organizations, such as Project Hope and the Aloha Medical Mission of Hawaii.
After concluding its mission in Papua New Guinea, the USS Peleliu proceeded to the Solomon Islands.
