22/05/2026
Port Moresby General Hospital: Strengthening Specialized Care for Papua New Guinea
Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) is Papua New Guinea’s Level 6 National Tertiary Referral, Research, and Teaching Hospital. Guided by the National Health Service Standards and the National Health Plan, PMGH’s mandate is to deliver high-end specialized health care to address the growing burden of lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and kidney disease. Our vision is to ensure Papua New Guineans can access world-class care locally, without the need to spend exorbitant amounts of money seeking treatment overseas.
To achieve this, PMGH must be supported by strong primary and secondary health systems. Under the NHSS framework, every district is expected to have a Level 4 District Hospital, and each province a Level 5 Hospital. Currently, the National Capital District (NCD) and Central Province remain the only provinces without Level 5 hospitals. Many Level 4 facilities in Moresby North East, Moresby South, and Central Province are either non-functional or under-resourced, leaving PMGH to carry the combined load of two Level 5 hospitals and multiple Level 4 district hospitals. Patients from Gulf Province also rely heavily on PMGH services.
With Port Moresby and Central Province’s combined population exceeding one million, PMGH is stretched to its limits. Today, 80% of our services are secondary care, while only 20% are specialized care, the very role PMGH was designed to fulfill. Without urgent intervention, secondary care demands will overwhelm our capacity to deliver specialized services.
Maternity care is one of the most critical areas under strain. PMGH delivers approximately 17,000 babies annually around 60 births per day in a labor ward with 25 beds. With the population growing at 3% per year and increasing migration into Port Moresby, the pressure on our staff and facilities is unsustainable.
To ease this burden, PMGH calls for immediate investment in NCDPHA and Central PHA facilities. Establishing at least six labor beds each in Moresby North East, Moresby South, and Moresby North West. Togther with Motoreia 3 labor beds, up to 20 labor beds will significantly reduce congestion at PMGH.
We are rallying support to raise funds for 18 additional labor beds across NCDPHA facilities. Every mother deserves a safe, dignified place to welcome her child into the world. Together, we can provide that.