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CBM marks 100 years in PNG

IT is often acknowledged that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and churches have and continue to contribute significantly to the development of Papua New Guinea.
Much of the work of NGOs and churches goes on behind the scenes, away from the limelight and yet hundreds and thousands of ordinary Papua New Guineans benefit from what they do and provide.
One such NGO is CBM (formerly know as Christoffel Blindenmission and Christian Blind Mission), which has been in PNG for 20 years.
It is an international Christian development organisation whose primary purpose is to improve the quality of life of the world’s poorest persons with disabilities and those at risk of disability.
CBM works with partner organisations in low income countries, like PNG, to both develop and ensure that persons with disabilities and their families have ready access to:
* Affordable and comprehensive health care and rehabilitation programmes;
* Quality education programs; and,
* Livelihood opportunities.
CBM works with persons with disabilities and advocates for their inclusion in all aspects of society.
CBM, founded by a German pastor Ernst Christoffel in 1908, is celebrating its 100 years of existence this year.
As part of the centenary celebrations, CBM in cooperation with Divine Word University (DWU) and Callan Services for Disabled Persons, is organising a three-day workshop on the treatment of young children with clubfoot using a special treatment called Ponseti technique at the DWU Madang campus from Feb 20-22.
Other activities to mark the centenary in PNG include an orthopedic surgical work by visiting CBM orthopedic surgeons, outreach eye surgeries by a CBM ophthalmologist, training of trainers in eye care, and, the PNG stakeholders meeting in May.
The clubfoot corrective treatment workshop is expected to be a pace-setting training in the country.
Clubfoot, according to a website on orthopedics, is a congenital deformity of the foot that occurs once per 1,000 live births.
“The foot has a typical appearance of pointing downwards and twisted inwards,” the website description reads.
“Since the condition starts in the first trimester of pregnancy, the deformity is quite established at birth, and is often very rigid.”
CMB says that although the incidence of clubfoot in PNG is unknown, the rate quoted for Polynesia / Melanesia of which PNG forms a part, is six cases per 1,000 live births.
This, it says, is six times the frequency in Europe or North America.
CBM adds that certainly neglected clubfoot is the most common musculoskeletal condition encountered by Callan’s CBR projects.
CBM and its partners, DWU and Callan Services hope to equip health professionals with the skills to treat children with clubfoot through the Ponseti technique, a non-surgical treatment.
CBM says currently, no one seems to be trained in the Ponseti method in PNG.
It adds that the Ponseti method of clubfoot treatment is now becoming recognised as the “gold standard” of clubfoot treatment worldwide and especially in those cases presenting within the first two years of life.
With its emphasis on manipulation and casting, with only minimal surgical intervention (a percutaneous Achilles tenotomy), it is very suited to the developing world, as treatment can be delegated to non-doctor healthcare staff such as physiotherapists.
The Ponseti technique is a method of stretching and casting the clubbed feet over time so that it straightens out to a normal feet.
According to the website, “the doctor changes the cast every week for several weeks, always stretching the foot toward the correct position. The heel cord is then released followed by one more cast for three weeks”.
The workshop will be conducted by CBM consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Stephen Mannion and Dr Naomi Davis, who is the pioneer of Ponseti techniques in the United Kingdom.
The workshop on Ponseti techniques is a small part of a range of projects CBM is involved with across PNG to help the needy.
The areas where CBM is involved as a partner including Mount Sion Centre for the Blind, Goroka; Callan Services for Disabled Persons, Mt Hagen; Callan Services for Disabled Persons (Callan National Unit), Wewak; Creative Self-Help Centre, Madang; Callan Services for Disabled Persons, Rabaul; Rural Ear and Eye Services East Sepik (Reeses), Wewak; Eye Care Programme in the Eastern Highlands, Goroka Eye Unit, Goroka; Physiotherapy Department, DWU, Madang; CBR Programme, Braun Memorial Hospital, Finschhafen; Callan Services Special Education Resource, Centre Wewak (Callan SERC), Wewak; Callan Services for Disabled Persons, Mingende Catholic Mission, Kundiawa; and Callan Services Education Resource Centre, diocese of Mendi.
And in 2007 alone, CBM had five highly experienced expatriate professionals working with its partner projects.
They included Pat Moon (physiotherapist and CBR specialist), Dr Jacques Darman (ophthalmologist), Warwick and Jo Bowden (CBR specialists) and Guy le Fanu (Special/Inclusive Needs Educator) – all providing technical and advisory services.
CBM is now looking at helping the government of PNG address orthopaedic work in the country, which is an area of great need.
PNG is one of 11 countries in CBM’s South-East Asia and Pacific regional office’s list, based in Manila, Philippines.
The above commitment to various partner organisations and their projects is part of CBM’s consideration of PNG as a “high-priority country” for its global assistance.
In the last 25 years, CBM support to its partners in PNG has amounted to about US$10 million.
And wherever it can, CBM says it is willing to help the country.
According to a statement from CBM, it “is now looking at helping the Government of PNG address orthopedic work in the country which is an area of great need”.

A new era of diplomacy is emerging with Taiwan polls swing
TAIWAN’s recent legislative elections, which gave the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) a massive majority in the legislature, could bring about a whole new era of diplomacy between Taipei, China and Pacific island nations, analysts and legislators said last week.
While the KMT also places importance on building strong ties with other countries, including Taiwan’s six Pacific island ally countries, its methods of doing so would be much different from the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), KMT lawmakers and political scientists told Pacific Magazine.
First of all, the KMT will focus on improving relations with China, which has been angered by the current president Chen Shui-bian and his party – the DPP’s – measures favouring formal independence for the island in the past eight years of their rule.
“In the past few years, China has pressured many countries to break off relations with Taiwan, mainly because it believes Taiwan is using relations with these countries to push for independence,” KMT legislator Yang Li-Huan said.
“Right now, both China and Taiwan are competing to see who can pay more money to buy these countries’ diplomatic recognition, but the KMT believes it is important to have good relations with China and when we have stronger relations with China, we will not be competing over these countries,” Yang said.
She was referring to so-called “dollar diplomacy” – a practice Beijing and Taipei have accused each other of, in which both sides paid millions of US dollars to small, poor countries including those in the South Pacific Ocean, Central America and Africa in exchange for diplomatic recognition.
In the future, strengthened relations with China could see Beijing giving Taiwan the international space to manoeuvre, and not trying to woo allies away from Taiwan, including the six countries in the Pacific which recognise Taiwan instead of mainland China, analysts believe.
“If the two sides sit down and talk and improve their relations, and agree not to fight over these countries, then Taiwan’s economic assistance and China’s economic assistance to these countries will be reduced,” Kou Chien-Wen, an associate political science professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei, said.
This would not mean an end to economic assistance from Taiwan to these countries, but development assistance programmes will be more focused and could have a bigger impact, Yang said.
“Most of the money is going to politicians now. Just think about it, so much money has been given from both sides, but has these countries become less dependent on foreign aid? No, because much of the money is not being used to develop the countries,” Yang said.
“But if we use the money to develop these countries’ economy and trade, that will be more helpful than spending a lot of money to buy politicians in these countries during elections.”
She said China and Taiwan could jointly invest in these countries and help them prosper.
“I believe because we will build good relations with China, we’ll have active exchanges with these countries, so our diplomatic relations with these countries will not be in name only, but in substance,” Yang said.
The election saw the KMT winning 81 seats in the 113-seat legislature, while the DPP managed to take only 27 of the seats.
The remaining five seats went to legislators from two minor parties and an independent candidate.
KMT’s stunning victory indicated strong voter discontent with the policies of the DPP government and thus is widely expected to boost KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou’s chances of winning the March 22 presidential election over his DPP rival Frank Hsieh.
Voters were mainly dissatisfied with Chen and the DPP’s anti-China policies, which they believe hurt the chances of Taiwan seizing opportunities in China’s economic boom and damaged Taiwan’s relations with the US.
People were also dissatisfied with the poor state of the economy in the past eight years, including stagnating wages, higher unemployment, rising inflation, and the sense that Taiwan has lost its competitiveness compared to its East Asian neighbours.
Taiwan has been ruled separately since the end of a civil war between the Nationalists and Communists in China in 1949.
However, Beijing considers Taiwan a part of China, which must be reunified with the mainland, and has threatened to use force if Taiwan formally declares independence. – Pacific Magazine