The United Nations system in Papua New Guinea says coping with a drought, expected to last into next year, will be a real challenge.
Drought and frost have impacted on parts of the Highlands for the past two months, but the UNDP's Roy Trivedy says the information so far from disaster assessors is that most of the region is in category 2, meaning the impact is not yet severe.
There have been reports of deaths due to the extreme weather, but Mr Trivedy says that is still be verified.
UNDP Resident Representative in PNG, Roy Trivedy. Photo: Network of International Development Organisations.
But he says they are waiting for full assessments of the extent of the disaster and its possible impacts, and will be ready to respond.
"The more preparedness work we do the better because actually there is no substitute. Even if it comes out later that perhaps it wasn't required, that doesn't matter. We need to be well positioned to be able to respond as quickly as possible, as soon as government tells us we need help now, then we need to move quickly."
