Maternal, infant programme aims to reduce mortality rates

RACHAEL Marape, wife of Prime Minister James Marape, launched the Saving Lives and Spreading Smiles programme (SLSSP) in Pomio, East New Britain, yesterday.
She also commissioned a solar power system for the hospital that could also power 10 light emitting diode (LED) lights, a fridge for storing medicine, a freezer to block ice for immunisation programmes and an oxygen concentrator to generate oxygen for 15 years without going to Kokopo for refills.
The solar power system has a battery that can provide power for up to 96 hours when there is no sun or wind.
Marape said women and children needed quality health services in rural areas.
“When I looked at what I can do as the wife of the prime minister to contribute to the country, I realise that there is a need for healthcare for women and children,” Marape said.
“This programme will help us mothers.
“Living in town, I gave birth to my children in a good hospital and when I go back to the village, women in the most rural areas do not have access to such services,” she said.
“Some babies are delivered using mobile phone torch light.”
Marape said many women in rural areas were unable to get to a health facilities to give birth and it was only proper that such programmes were brought to the rural areas.
She also urged men to contribute towards the health and wellbeing of their families.
Marape thanked programme partners Unicef (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund), the Australian government and the National Government for making the programme possible.
SLSSP aims to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in the country by providing training for community health work and acquire reliable and affordable technology to improve healthcare services in rural districts.
The comprehensive package of care, aimed at reducing infant and maternal deaths, would be delivered through the broader SLSSP initiative that the Government is facilitating with funding and technical support from the Australian foreign affairs and trade department and Unicef.
Key components of the SLSSP programme focus on preventing and managing bleeding after delivery which is a common cause of death in mothers and neonatal hypothermia (low body temperature) deaths and complications in newborns.
Mothers experiencing heavy bleeding after delivery, a common cause of death, will benefit from the use of a low cost external pressure suit to control bleeding for up to eight hours.
A tiny life-saving bracelet, called Bebi Kol Kilok used to manage neonatal hypothermia is expected to save thousands of newborns.
“This programme will improve key indicators and ensure more mothers and babies survive,” East New Britain health authority acting chief executive officer Dr Ako Yap said.