New Zealander Dave Neru is heading to the Papua New Guinea Highlands on Friday, September 18, to assist with Oxfam's emergency response to the country's first confirmed cholera outbreak.

Neru will be helping coordinate the provision of emergency supplies, such as water containers, mosquito nets and tarpaulins to areas where cholera cases have been reported, as well as dysentery and influenza. In response to a request from Goroka Hospital, he will be helping to provide supplies to establish a field hospital specifically for people with suspected cholera.

According to the latest reports, there have been 190 reported cases of cholera which has killed at least nine people; influenza has affected 4647 people and claimed the lives of 56; and shigella dysentery 788, with 39 deaths in the Morobe and Eastern Highlands province.

Oxfam is working with the PNG Government, local health authorities and other agencies to help ensure a coordinated response to the outbreak. Oxfam is particularly concentrating its efforts in the Highlands area, where Oxfam's partner organizations are based and able to respond quickly to prevent further spread of the disease.

Neru will be joining expert Oxfam staff on the ground, helping to deliver essential supplies and assessing the water and sanitation and public hygiene needs of affected communities. Neru has previously worked with Oxfam's emergency teams in response to the Boxing Day Tsunami, and in PNG following Cyclone Guba in 2007.