The National Department of Health (NDoH) has recently initiated a series of stakeholder consultations aimed at developing a modern Public Health Act to replace the current legislative framework.

This review, prompted by the Constitution and Law Reform Commission’s (CLRC) assessment, identifies the Public Health Act 1973 as a colonial-era law that is now over fifty years old and increasingly obsolete.

Initial discussions commenced last week in East New Britain, involving health officials, provincial disaster and emergency offices, the Rabaul Volcano Observatory, and various other key stakeholders.

The scope of this legal review extends beyond the 1973 Act to include subordinate instruments such as the Quarantine Act 1953, the Quarantine Regulations 1956, and the National Pandemic Act 2020.

 The primary objective is to establish a comprehensive legal foundation that protects and promotes the health of Papua New Guinea while remaining aligned with modern national health priorities.

Margaret Asinimbu, the NDoH Manager for Legal and Governance, noted that the current laws are ill-equipped to handle the dramatic societal and medical transformations of recent decades.

Experience from the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant shortcomings in the existing legislation, which necessitated the rapid enactment of the National Pandemic Act 2020 to manage the national response.

Consequently, the NDoH emphasizes the need for coherence and alignment across all related public health laws.

The proposed amendments are expected to address contemporary health challenges, socio-economic shifts, and global health regulations.

A draft bill of these amendments is scheduled for review by the State Solicitor, the National Executive Council, and the First Legislative Council this coming August.