Mormons help health care in PNG

Despite Papua New Guinea being Australia’s nearest neighbour, in terms of health care the two countries could not be further apart, according to Sydney doctor Bruce Slonim.
“One in 22 mothers die at childbirth in PNG,” he said recently in a meeting with Latter Day Saints and their guests in Sydney.
“This is a far cry from the mortality rate of Australia’s first-world health system, where eight in 100,000 mothers die in childbirth. The infant mortality rate in PNG is extremely high as well.”
Dr Slonim and his wife Gayle recently returned to Australia after a stint as volunteer medical workers for Australian Doctors International in PNG. They were based in New Ireland, a remote island about 800km from Port
Moresby.
The Slonims devoted their time, resources and expertise to teach as volunteers in PNG for three months.
They put into place policies and procedures that they believed would continue to be used by the local health workers they trained.
They conducted health patrols to rural and isolated communities, often by boat. They travelled with a team of provincial and district health staff to conduct optical, dental and general health exams, provide community health education, as well as administer treatment for communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy.
The couple brought medical equipment and supplies, donated by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to rural medical centres.
Sydney Latter Day Saints have also supported the Slonims in their humanitarian efforts.
Local church members donated A$31,000 so medical equipment and supplies for birthing kits could be purchased.
Blankets and medical supplies were also donated by women of the Sydney Harbour Stake Relief Society (women’s organisation of the church). Scores of Sydney Mormon women then ensured that these materials were packed and shipped to PNG.
Volunteers assembled 340 post-natal care packs that would bring much-needed support and comfort. 
The packs included onesies, singlets, cloth nappies and pins, pilchers and a bunny rug for the babies. Items for new mothers included face washers, soap and other personal care items.
LDS women also packed church-donated medical equipment before it was shipped to medical clinics at the Kavieng Hospital in the same region. 
The Slonims then distributed these resources during their three months in New Ireland.
“The people we trained were so grateful for this knowledge and the equipment that will enable them to continue saving lives,” Gayle Slonim said.
Danny Hamilton, president of the LDS Sydney Harbour Stake, thanked the Slonims for their relief efforts in PNG.
He said that members of the church were delighted to see the positive difference that the training and donated medical equipment had made in the lives of those in such dire need in the country – http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.au