19/03/2026
PNG Angels Mission – March 2026
From 9–13 March, a team of 13 volunteers from Australia partnered with Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) to deliver life-changing neurosurgical care in Papua New Guinea.
We are deeply grateful to our colleagues at PMGH for their warm hospitality, collaboration, and commitment to improving patient outcomes. This mission reflects the strength of our growing partnership.
✨ Impact at a glance:
- 14 complex neurosurgical procedures completed
- 5 brain surgeries and 9 spinal surgeries
- Patients ranged from just 6 months to 72 years old
- 200+ attendances at nurse education workshops
This mission also marked two historic milestones for PNG 🇵🇬
1) The country’s first Oblique Lateral Interbody Fusion (OLIF) and Prone Lateral Fusion procedures.
2) The first temporal craniotomy and tumour resection at PMGH, performed on a 13-year-old boy in a life-changing surgery.
The team also delivered vital donated supplies, including consumables from Gosford Private Hospital, spinal hardware from LifeHealthcare, and FloSeal from Baxter, alongside $32,000 AUD worth of shunts funded by PNG Angels donors.
“I’m incredibly proud of what our team and our PNG colleagues have achieved on this tenth mission. Beyond the 14 complex procedures, it’s the strengthening of relationships, the sharing of knowledge, and our growing partnership with POMGEN that will have the greatest long-term impact on neurosurgical care in PNG.”
— Dr Marc Coughlan
This mission was not only about delivering care, but about building sustainable neurosurgical capacity through partnership, education, and shared expertise.
