Papua New Guinea drought puts millions at risk

Papua New Guinea’s government has declared a national humanitarian emergency as prolonged El Niño conditions deepen water and food shortages. A joint government communiqué said 20 of the country’s 22 provinces were affected and more than 5.5 million people were at risk. The government allocated 10 million kina to each province and 5 million kina to each district for water, food and health support.

The Guardian reported that some communities had received less than a quarter of normal rainfall since August, drying rivers and wells and destroying subsistence food gardens. Schools and health facilities have reduced services in some areas, while low reservoir levels are constraining hydropower. National broadcaster NBC reported that 15 provinces faced extreme drought and five were severely affected when the emergency was declared on 7 October.

The estimates describe different measures: the official 5.5 million figure is the population at risk, not a verified count of people already without food or water. Prime Minister James Marape has told provincial governments to lead assessments and response work, while the national weather service warns that strong El Niño conditions may continue into 2027. Delivery of safe water, nutrition monitoring and transparent local assessments will show whether announced funding reaches remote communities.