PAST AND PRESENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA 

INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH

What is the PNG Institute of Medical Research?

Prof. John C Reeder, Director PNG-IMR, May 2000

A strong medical research capability is important for the health and advancement of every nation. This is exemplified by the standing of medical research institutes in industrialised nations and the support given them by government and people alike. Because of the enormous health problems they face, less developed nations should give particular support to health-related research, but, regrettably, this is rarely so. One of the few exceptions has been Papua New Guinea where there is a longstanding commitment to health research, through a National Institute of Medical Research, that receives strong support from the Health Department and workers in the health sector.

The Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNG IMR) was established in 1968 as a Statutory Body of the Government of Papua New Guinea, responsible to the Minister for Health. The activities of the Institute have been directed towards the primary goal of conducting research into the health problems of the people of Papua New Guinea. Major research programs have been established in respiratory diseases, malaria, malnutrition, enteric diseases, sexual health and women's health, thus addressing the biggest health problems of Papua New Guinea. The principal funding of the Institute as the national medical research institute comes from the national Government. Its affairs are governed by a Council of 14 members with wide representation. Though independent of the Department of Health, the Institute effectively acts as the research arm of the Department.

The Institute conducts its work from laboratory and office complexes in Goroka (Eastern Highlands Province), Madang (Madang Province) and Maprik (East Sepik Province), with smaller branches in Port Moresby and Wewak. Various field stations support ongoing research in rural areas. Over 250 people are employed in the operation of this network. The head administration, main library and largest laboratories of the Institute are in the headquarters in Goroka. The malaria research program is conducted from the Institute base at Yagaum near Madang and in the Wosera area of Maprik District from bases in Maprik and Kunjingini. The pneumonia research program has so far been conducted in Goroka and Tari, though studies in coastal areas are planned. The enteric diseases research program is based in Goroka though the principal work on pigbel in the past was carried out in Simbu Province.

The sexual health research program has been conducted in a number of provinces and in the urban centres of Port Moresby and Lae. The program on women's health has taken place in Madang, Maprik, Tari, Goroka and, more recently, Port Moresby and Lae. The nutrition research program has been based in both Goroka and Madang and has been carried out also in Tari, Karimui (Simbu Province) and the Wosera, in addition to the National Nutrition Survey. Apart from the Survey itself, which was nation-wide, research studies, from bases in the IMR's strategically placed branches, have been conducted in virtually every province of Papua New Guinea. A particular emphasis has been placed on the health problems of people living in the remote and marginalized fringe highlands.

All the Institute's research is applied research: it is problem driven rather than curiosity driven. The problems are specific diseases or the health problems in a particular area or among a particular group. The Institute is organized principally around its problem-based research programs - pneumonia, malaria, enteric diseases, nutrition, sexual health, women's health, filariasis, and other diseases. Cutting across these are units based on scientific disciplines: the epidemiology unit, the microbiology and immunology unit, the malaria and entomology unit, the molecular genetics unit, the medical anthropology unit, the computing and statistics unit, and the information and communication unit. A third structural dimension is provided by the sections of administration, finances, transport, library and laboratory management, which support all programs and units.

Though the Institute focuses on the health problems of Papua New Guinea, the standard of research conducted has brought it high international standing. The Institute’s matchless publication record, in the most prestigious international journals, bears witness to the global significance of the work undertaken. This has led to longstanding collaborations with research groups in Europe, North America and Australia, which have brought into PNG not only diverse expertise, but also substantial project funding.

The ultimate aim of all the Institute's research programs is to provide effective interventions that will lead to improvements in people's health and in the control and prevention of disease. The basis for achieving this aim is greater understanding of the relevant disease processes and the constraints to change. In part this understanding comes from knowledge of the external causative agents of disease and in part from examining the host factors involved, in particular behavioural, genetic, immunological and nutritional. Though the activities of the Institute cover a wide span and its laboratory and computer facilities make use of the latest technology, most of its research programs are firmly rooted in the community, with community-based staff and active involvement from the participating communities.