Port Moresby - Post Report Question and Answers
Are there any particular health concerns? What is the quality of available medical care? What medical conditions typically require medical evacuation?
We were fine, but friends had all sorts if issues and generally needed to go to Australia to sort them out. Be careful about skin infections: several friends and acquaintance contracted serious infections that required medical evacuations. - May 2019
Malaria and Dengue are very common, including in the compound. There is a growing risk of drug resistant TB, and typhoid, AIDS, and cholera are here as well. Most of the local population do not have running water or electricity, and there is no public garbage collection. There are sewers that empty straight into the bay - I don't know if it is treated or not. Medical care is dicey. We have not had a nurse here on post since I got here. They have hired one, but she or he has not started yet. We do have access to the Australian High Commission doctor for a fee. The U.S. Regional Medical Officer tries to come every few months. There are also clinics, although we don't have access to the one that most expats use. There is a private hospital that has ambulance service and an emergency room. Bring a credit card - unsure of costs but you really have no choice. I just continue to hope that nothing happens to us. It will be nice once the nurse gets here. Medevac spot is Singapore. - Jun 2016
A lot of expats in Port Moresby have gotten malaria this year. Testing and treatment is readily available. Evacuation insurance is required, to get you to Cairns or Brisbane, Australia for anything moderately serious or specialized. If it's not an emergency, you go on a regularly scheduled commercial flight. Get DAN diving insurance if you dive. There is a decompression chamber in Port Moresby, but you need to be evacuated on a special aircraft from the coast or islands to the city. You can get medications from Australia in PNG at reputable pharmacies (supermarkets are OK), but they are expensive and may not be in stock so bring a year's supply of prescription medications you take. Bring an extra pair of prescription glasses and prescription sunglasses with Croakies so you don't lose them boating; they can't be made in PNG and have to be sent out to Australia. There is one recommended expat dentist here. - Jun 2008
