"Reaching the unreached" was the motto of two recent eye surgery camps in Papua New Guinea. A one-week surgical programme was carried out in each of two extremely remote regions, both of which have no mobile phone coverage and no road access.

A team led by Dr Waimbe Wahamu, in partnership with Dr James Kintwa, CEO of the HELA Provincial Health Authority and his staff, first visited Wanikipa in the Koroba Kopiago district of Hela province.

Then, in cooperation with Dr Valerie from Gulf Christian Services and the team at Kapuna Rural Hospital, and Dr Amyna and her group from LAILA Foundation/Pacific International Hospital, they travelled to Kapuna Rural Hospital, a remote hospital serving the communities in the swamps and rivers of the Gulf Province.

Both locations can only be reached by air. Wanikipa was flown to by helicopter - piloted by the owner of Monolos Aviation, Jürgen Ruh - and Kapuna by a Twin Otter small aircraft from TropicAir. The last stretch from the airstrip to the hospital even had to be travelled by boat on the Purari River.

Always on board: a FLAIR P5 microscope, which has been in frequent use since 2018.

Wanikipa:

Kapuna:

Reaching the Unreached