Papua New Guinea's Health Minister, Michael Malabag, has called for an emergency meeting with governors of two Papuan provinces and the National Capital District where tuberculosis has become a serious public health concern.
Mr Malabag told the Post Courier the Prime Minister Peter O'Neill is concerned about the increase in TB cases.
The Minister says he has written to the National Capital District Governor, the Gulf Governor, Western Province Governor to attend the meeting today to create an emergency response team that will target the three provinces.
He says the NCD has been identified as the hot spot for TB with consistently high TB notification rates, which is four times more than the national average.
The Health Minister says the NCD contributes to 25 percent of the country's TB burden, despite being home to only 5 percent of the country's population.