Dr. Paul Tangu

Dr. Paul Tangu is a public health physician based at Port Moresby General Hospital and seconded to the PNG National Department of Health's Disease Control Directorate. With 16 years of experience in public health medicine, Dr. Tangu works at the intersection of clinical medicine and population health, leading disease surveillance, outbreak response, and health systems strengthening programmes across Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea faces an extraordinarily complex public health landscape, including one of the Pacific's highest burdens of communicable diseases (malaria, TB, HIV), significant maternal and child mortality, and rapidly growing urban health challenges. Dr. Tangu has been at the forefront of PNG's response to multiple disease outbreaks including polio resurgence, cholera, and COVID-19.

Dr. Tangu holds Fellowship of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (FAFPHM) and is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the School of Public Health at the University of Papua New Guinea. He is a key government adviser on health sector reform and primary care strengthening.

Dr. Tangu completed his MBBS at the University of Papua New Guinea School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He subsequently completed a Master of Public Health (MPH) at James Cook University in Australia, with a focus on tropical health and health systems in Pacific settings.

He was awarded Fellowship of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (FAFPHM) through the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), which is the peak specialist qualification in public health medicine in Australia and the Pacific. He has completed additional training in field epidemiology through the Australia Twinning Programme with the Kirby Institute and the CDC-supported Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) Pacific.

Dr. Tangu's expertise lies in population-level health rather than individual clinical care. His core competencies include communicable disease surveillance, outbreak investigation and response, health impact assessment, immunisation programme management, and the design and evaluation of community health interventions.

At the clinical interface, Dr. Tangu advises on tropical disease prevention and control, maternal and child health programme design, and the integration of NCD prevention into primary healthcare. He represents PNG at WHO Western Pacific Regional Committee meetings and Pacific health ministers' forums.

Dr. Tangu has published over 20 peer-reviewed papers and technical reports on topics including malaria epidemiology, immunisation coverage, HIV prevention, and outbreak response in PNG. His publications appear in the Papua New Guinea Medical Journal, Western Pacific Surveillance and Response Journal (WPSAR), and BMC Public Health.

He has received research funding from the Australian Government through DFAT and from WHO, and is a named investigator on several Pacific regional health research projects coordinated through the Pacific Community (SPC). He is a regular speaker at the Papua New Guinea Medical Society Annual Conference and the Pacific Public Health Conference.

As a public health physician, Dr. Tangu's primary focus is population health rather than individual patient consultations. However, he can provide specialist public health advice to international organisations, NGOs, and health authorities working in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific region.

For individual patients seeking clinical care in PNG, Dr. Tangu can advise on appropriate health facilities and referral pathways, and can facilitate contact with clinical colleagues at Port Moresby General Hospital. Patients with complex conditions requiring specialist care are routinely referred to Brisbane or Cairns, Australia, through established referral channels.

Dr. Tangu has received the PNG National Department of Health Meritorious Service Award for his leadership of the COVID-19 surveillance and response programme. He received the Pacific Public Health Association Young Researcher Award and commendations from WHO Western Pacific for contributions to PNG's polio eradication and immunisation programmes.