PNG rules in maternity death stats

PAPUA New Guinea has the highest rate of maternity deaths in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a National Statistics office survey.
It prompted the Australian government to help in the training midwives and providing better maternity healthcare in the country. More than 500 midwives celebrated the completion of their last week in Port Moresby.
The Australia Awards In-PNG scholarships aim to address vocational skills gap required for service delivery.
Vanita Viseh, a midwife from the Eastern Highlands, said she now knew how to prevent primary postpartum haemorrhage.
“Before the training I was not sure what I should do,” she said.
“The skills are very useful, especially when the doctors are not around during the night.
“Now we know how to manage.”
Since 2012, the Australia Awards had offered 600 scholarships to nurses to pursue the Bachelor of Midwifery programme at five tertiary education institutions.
They achieved an annual average completion rate of 97 per cent, demonstrating their strong commitment to the profession.