Papua New Guinea has one of the worst material health indicators in Asia–Pacific due to inadequate maternal care and the remoteness of villages to the nearest health centre. This places mothers and their babies at serious risk.
In the remote landowning villages of the Frieda River Project, many mothers have their own stories of pregnancy complications, and of giving birth to children in their homes and garden houses, or on their way to the nearest village aid posts.
Frieda River Limited is helping to overcome these challenges by facilitating a month-long village birth attendant training held in April 2023. Two female volunteers from each of the seven impact communities participated in the training.
Ms Fredah Wantum, a qualified midwife nurse with over twenty years of experience, conducted this training with resources funded by Frieda River Limited.
“The training was mostly theoretical with examples based on practical experiences from women volunteers. Their existing knowledge was enhanced through this training on birth delivery, monitoring and family planning,” said Ms Wantum.