In 2017 the members of the Rotary Club of Morialta in South Australia, became aware of the urgent need to improve maternal and newborn outcomes in Papua New Guinea, a neighbouring country of Australia.
More than 80 % of people in Papua New Guinea (PNG) live in rural and remote, isolated and hard to reach areas. There are an estimated 250,000 births in PNG per year and most of them are in these rural areas. It is well known that women and babies die in large numbers in PNG. Whilst it has been difficult to measure directly, deaths of mothers during pregnancy and childbirth is one of the highest in the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) believes that access to midwifery care saves the lives of mothers and their babies however there is a large unmet need for skilled and educated midwives in PNG.
Through initial contact with the Australia College of Midwives (ACM), Morialta members were in touch with the professional association of midwives in PNG who asked for assistance from Rotary to improve the outcomes for mothers and babies through the strengthening of midwifery leadership within the PNG Midwifery Society (PNGMS) and providing a ‘buddy’ program between the ACM and the PNGMS. They believe that by strengthening their professional association they can more effectively represent, support and advance midwifery through continually improving standards and advocacy which in turn will improve maternal and newborn health.
The Morialta Club has accepted the challenge and developed a 3-year project, to provide midwives in PNG with a leadership and advocacy ‘buddy’ program.
Each year of the project, 6 Australian midwives will volunteer their time to work with their colleagues in PNG. The buddy pairs will be expected to form a long-term relationship and to mentor others entering the program over the coming years.
The Rotary Club of Morialta has been awarded a Rotary Global and District grant to proceed with this signature project. The potential for thousands of women in PNG to benefit through Rotary assisting midwives to make high-quality health care available to vulnerable mothers and children, so they can live longer and grow stronger is possibly one of the most important differences that a Rotary Club can achieve.
RAWCS accreditation has been gained so donations to the project are tax deductible. See the clubs web site for more information on this project.
