This is the first progress report of the Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development program (Pacific Women) in Papua New Guinea. It provides a snapshot of the program’s achievements and challenges in the first three years of operation from 2012 – June 2015. This report is supplementary to the first progress report on the regional Pacific Women program that covers all 14 Pacific Islands Forum countries.
The Australian Government established Pacific Women in 2012. It is a 10-year $320 million program. Each Pacific nation included in the program has developed a country plan to guide implementation. Papua New Guinea has begun its second phase that is a five-year plan from 2014–2019.
In Papua New Guinea, Pacific Women supports the Government and people to meet the strong pronouncements in the country’s constitution for gender equality, and medium and long-term development goals. Pacific Women also supports the Papua New Guinea Government meet international and regional commitments such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the 2012 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Gender Equality Declaration. The second Country Plan for Papua New Guinea (2014–2019) commits Papua New Guinea is $58 million over this five-year phase.
