This weeks SoroptiVoice comes from Di Lockwood, zone 1 co-ordinator for SI South West Pacific. Here she talks about the challenges facing Papua New Guinea as they try to reduce maternal mortality and shares some details of SISWP’s Federation Project, Birthing in the Pacific.

Imagine, in a developing country, a hospital where over 1000 births occur each month, and where 7 of the birthing mothers will die. Imagine that the country has the second worst maternal and infant mortality rate in
Asia, that 88-98% these deaths are preventable and yet 40% of rural clinics have closed. That country is

Papua New Guinea where the South West Pacific Federation project, Birthing in the Pacific, began as a visionary initiative suggested by an individual member.

The project aims to reduce the risk of maternal and infant mortality by improving the maternity skills of midwives and nurses in 

Papua New Guinea. This is a focus on MDG 5 A.2 which seeks to increase the proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel, a factor widely recognised as the single most effective way of reducing maternal and infant mortality in developing nations.

Initially to be located in the 3 towns where Soroptimist clubs exist, this model of up skilling nurses has gained support from the Ministry of Health in PNG, the World Health Organisation, AusAID, other NGOs, education centres and health services. The project is about Soroptimists providing resources to facilitate access to basic up skilling education programmes and hence stimulating a change in practice for those people, including Village Birthing Attendants, who attend birthing women.

The first priority has been to select and equip midwives to attend competency-based courses. Clubs have been challenged to “sponsor a midwife” at a cost of $300 to cover airfare, safe accommodation and attendance at a two week course.

Secondly, it is intended to provide a kit of essential basic clinical tools for midwives to enable them to monitor the health status of the birthing mother and baby. This simple kit will cost about $30.

The third priority is to assist the PNG Midwives Society to function effectively as a leading professional organisation and also to register and monitor the change in practice of those nurses who have undertaken the course.

Education is at the heart of change and this project seeks to empower nurses to become skilled practitioners who achieve better outcomes for pregnant women and their babies in this culturally complex and challenging nation.