PNG to build Ebola detention facility at airport

Papua New Guinea will build Ebola detention facility at the Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby. As the Ebola epidemic in West Africa worsens PNG needs to prepare for this deadly disease. The PNG WHO representative Dr Boris Pavlin said due to management programs that have been galvanised by substantial international support, Ebola has been contained in some parts of Western Africa. About three countries are affected by this deadly disease that has claimed over 5,000, as indicated by updated World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, however,  99.5 per cent of the population in West Africa is not affected.

As a display of PNG’s preparedness, despite health authorities downplaying the chances as “extremely low”, the National Health Department, through its Ebola Task Force and the WHO, announced a detection facility to be built at the Jackson’s International Airport last week Friday.

The facility will be constructed with assistance from Australian Aid, through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

A source from the contractor charged with arranging logistics and training, on behalf of the Health Department and Australia’s DFAT, confirmed that there was no construction today due to access issues.

The construction comes at a time when the international terminal is experiencing major renovations.

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