USAID announced an additional $3.5 million in additional funding to support disaster preparedness in Papua New Guinea this week. The funding was announced by Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, during a National Security Council delegation trip to Papua New Guinea where U.S. officials toured the Papua New Guinea National Disaster Center and met with Papua New Guinea government officials to discuss U.S.-Papua New Guinea relations, including disaster preparedness and response efforts.
Papua New Guinea frequently faces extreme weather events and natural hazards, including earthquakes, floods, storms, and volcanic eruptions. This funding will support USAID partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to build local government capacity to conduct rapid disaster assessments, implement disaster management strategies, address gender-based violence in emergency contexts, and expand community-driven disaster preparedness for more effective disaster response.
The funding will also enable IOM to preposition relief commodities for immediate distribution when disasters strike. Prepositioned relief commodities have facilitated accelerated USAID relief efforts during previous disasters in Papua New Guinea, including flood and earthquake relief in March and April of 2024.
The United States appreciates close collaboration with regional partners, including Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea, in response to the recent landslide in Enga Province that affected nearly 8,000 people, and we urge other donors to join us in supporting the long-term resilience of the people of Papua New Guinea.
