MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
I am pleased to announce the commencement this week of a very important health initiative to address distressingly high levels of maternal and child mortality in 19 provinces of Papua New Guinea.
The project, designed to run for five years and costing over $40 million, represents a significant increase in the Australian Government's overall contribution to PNG's health sector. It will run in conjunction with other projects funded by the Australian Government through AusAID.
The 'Women's and Children's Health Project' aims to improve the health of women and children by improving their access to health services across the country, particularly at the community level.
The project is expected to have a significant impact on the people of PNG where only one in five births is presently attended by trained health personnel.
PNG's maternal mortality rate is 370 per 100,000 live births (compared with 9 per 100,000 live births in Australia), the infant mortality rate is 68 per 1000 live births (Australia: 6 per 1000), and the high under-5 mortality rate is 112 per 1000 live births (Australia: 8 per 1000).
Activities to be undertaken as part of the project include:
- rehabilitation of selected health centres to enable them to provide adequate care to women and children
- improving community awareness and support for ongoing women's and children's health services for women and children through community based initiatives such as the Village Birth Attendant program, the Men's Health Education program and the Village Health Promoters program
- purchase and installation of furniture and equipment (for instance, the provision of oxygen concentrators in health centres - respiratory disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five years of age in PNG and oxygen availability is important for its treatment)
- fixed and mobile maternal and child health care clinics
- Improving the health of people in developing countries is a key priority of the Australian aid program.
Media contacts:
Judi Nixon (Mrs Sullivan's office) (07) 5591 1011/ 0411 287 258 Matt Francis (AusAID) (02) 6206 4967 / 0417 683 126