Clean water essential for safe birth deliveries

A CLEAN birthing environment and good hygiene practices are crucial to a mother and baby’s survival during and after birth. Sanitary conditions help protect them from infections that could cause debilitating illnesses, permanent disabilities, and even death.
Clean water can be the only hope for many remote communities around the country to keep a mother and baby clean after delivery. Situm, in the Nawaeb district of Morobe is about an hour away from Lae by road.  Unlike many other remote communities around the country, it has a proper building that serves a clinic.
But, the clinic has NO water.   Health workers, mothers, babies, and other patients have had many difficulties accessing clean water for hydrating patients, sanitising instruments, cleaning wounds, and bathing mothers and babies.
For many years, the clinic has had no water source, limiting quality treatment and care for patients, and exposing health workers and patients alike to the risk of infection.
There is a river that runs near the clinic but due to the long dry weather, it has turned muddy and is dry drying up. Patients seeking treatment walk long distances to the clinic lugging their own water containers.
“It has really been hard to get clean water to wash the instruments for delivery during birth and prepare it for next delivery. It is even more challenging for mothers who give birth to wash and clean themselves,” Joyce Savinio, officer in charge of the clinic lamented.
“The nearest water source is about 150 metres away from the clinic and it is a tiring task for the clinic staff to walk back and forth to fetch water,” she added. .
But this is now a thing of the past. In March 2016 World Vision Papua New Guinea, with support from the Australia Non-Government Cooperation Programme (ANCP) and World Vision Australia, worked with communities around the Situm health centre to construct a filtration dam which connected the clinic to a water source from Musom Tale village.
World Vision also installed two water tanks and three water taps to ensure that clinic staff and patients have enough water for drinking and washing.
“Since the water connection was installed, more mothers from the nearby villagers and even from far distances now come here to have their babies delivered,” said Joyce.
“We are able to serve the community more efficiently now that the water is connected to the clinic.”
“The health workers are happier now that they have clean water for their own use. This has also boosted their performance at work and they serve more patients without worrying about water limitations,” she added.
“Many of the mothers who have delivered their babies at the clinic were grateful and pleased to use the water at the clinic to wash themselves and their baby after the delivery.
Twenty year old Francica John is one of the many mothers who recently gave birth at the health centre.
“I’m grateful for what World Vision has done to our village and the clinic which has greatly helped me during my pregnancy and delivery,” said Francisca.
“My seven-month-old baby is healthy and we continue to come here for regular check-ups. We no longer have to carry our heavy water containers and bottle here,” said Francisca.
Around 19,600 people within the catchment of the Situm area access health services from the clinic.
The clinic serves up to 200 patients every day. Most of those who come for services are mothers and their babies.
From the time the water supply system was installed in the clinic to date, a total of 113 healthy babies had been delivered at the clinic without contracting infectious diseases.
These babies and their mothers regularly come back to the clinic for postnatal and neonatal check to support their health and wellbeing.

• Timothy Maima is communication officer with World Vision Country Program office.