Papua New Guinea authorities are looking to churches to convince more people to get the COVID-19 vaccine, amid the growing threat from the highly infectious Delta variant.
Official figures show around 60,000 people in PNG have had their first dose of a vaccine, and just 1900 have had both.
A recent survey by PNG’s health department, found that just 39 per cent of people - excluding health workers - were willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine.
Church officials and leaders are now being drafted in to the fight online conspiracy theories and encourage vaccinations.
Dr Alphonse Aime is the Head of the Communications department at the Divine Word University and says more needs to be done to counter the anti-vaccination messages.
“Social media is beating us to the gate and their stories have an impact on the majority of Papua New Guineans, even the elite ones … social media is very harsh, providing fake news and people are believing [it].”
He believes churches, which are extremely influential in PNG, have a part to play.
"There are public areas where there are tents set up, posters set up, talk about these issues openly and of course, there will be sceptics around the place, but you’re trying to drive home a message."
"I was happy with the churches, now there is unified voices in the churches… I think they've voiced that they would preach that it is a social and moral responsibility that people get vaccinated."
The PNG Council of Church's is planning to launch a vaccination campaign later this month.
Reverend Roger Joseph said they will visit major towns and cities across PNG.
"We are taking the theological message out to our people, message of obedience to the authorities, message of protection and loving your neighbour, these are the kind of messages we are trying to take out to the people."
Reverend Joseph believes church leaders are already helping to convince people to get vaccinated in Port Moresby.
"I will use the church term, they were converted, we influenced them, and they were willing to be vaccinated."
"So with that result we know that if we can take it up to the Christians out there in the regions we can be able to convince," he said.
Officials from PNG's COVID19 National Control Centre are supportive of the churches' stance.
Dr Petronia Kaima is the centre’s Risk Communications Lead, and said the only way to protect PNG from a large-scale outbreak, is getting more people vaccinated.
"We want to reach out to all these different means, social media and mainstream media to social mobilization to community engagement."
"We want to get message out to the public to … that vaccines are safe," she said.
"No one will introduce a vaccination to destroy the whole population, this is fake news."
There are around 200,000 doses of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccines now in PNG, which will be available once local authorities approve them for use.
Thousands of extra AstraZeneca doses have been promised by New Zealand, Australia and the global COVAX facility.
Photo file