A missionary in Papua New Guinea says the country needs a nationwide awareness campaign to stop the killing of people accused of sorcery or witchcraft.
Anton Lutz's comments follow an intervention in Enga province to save the lives of 17 women and children accused of being witches by villagers.
Mr Lutz, of the Lutheran Church, says during the intervention the person responsible, known as a witch finder, agreed to retract the accusations and admitted she had been bribed.
He says while that is a success, there is still a long way to go in PNG.
"There needs to be a co-ordinated response, similar in some ways to the one we had for the AIDs crisis in this country, where there are billboards, education and the health sector is involved and law and order sector, sort of a comprehensive nationwide fight or campaign I should say to address this."
Anton Lutz says an outbreak of measles triggered the accusations against the 17 women and children.
Remains of a young mother killed after being accused of sorcery in Mount Hagen city in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Photo: AFP / Post Courier