Barriers to healthcare for female patients in Papua New Guinea

A 25-year-old woman presented to hospital in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG) with a 3-year history of increasing abdominal distension, amenorrhoea and syncope. Ultrasound showed a large unilocular ovarian cyst. During her work-up, she was found to be HIV positive. She was treated with antiretroviral therapy, and once her CD4 count improved, she underwent a laparotomy and removal of the ovarian cyst with immediate improvement in symptoms. PNG has high levels of HIV particularly in young women and children.¹ This is partly due to a lack of screening and treatment facilities and partly due to significant gender discrimination. PNG is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for females; women are treated as second-class citizens with few human rights or access to services such as healthcare.² Rape, sexual assault and domestic violence are common, and their lives are dictated to them by their husbands or male relatives.^{2 3} The lack of healthcare resources and significant levels of gender discrimination meant that this patient had a delayed presentation resulting in potentially grave complications.

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