'Unrecognised crisis': 160km from Australia, women in serious danger
by The Sydney Morning Herald / In the News
Australia’s near-neighbour Papua New Guinea is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a mother and there are signs the country’s health crisis is getting worse, a report has found.
Women in PNG are 35 times more likely to die during pregnancy than women in Australia (1 in 120 in PNG compared to 1 in 8700 in Australia), according to an evaluation of maternal health by the aid agency ChildFund Australia.
1-Tok Kaunselin Helpim Lain: A Report on the First Two Years of Operation in Papua New Guinea
by ChildFund Papua New Guinea / Reports
ChildFund Papua New Guinea Country Report 2015/2016
by ChildFund Papua New Guinea / Reports
Dial for help: The surprise hotline helping quake survivors in Papua New Guinea
by IRIN / In the News
More than two months after Papua New Guinea’s strongest earthquake in almost a century, stranded survivors are turning to an unexpected lifeline: a small domestic violence hotline run by a non-governmental organisation [ChildFund].
Although the risks of violence against women rise after disasters, most callers aren’t women. They’re men reaching out for support, enquiring about how to obtain food, shelter, and other services, or fearful of violence that has broken out in some areas after tribal clashes.
HOPE in Papua New Guinea
by Diana Quick / Member Spotlight
In Papua New Guinea, ChildFund Australia has implemented the HOPE (A Haus (house) for Protection and Empowerment) project, which aims to reduce the widespread violent abuse of children’s and women's rights by empowering survivors and training human rights defenders. The project has provided a safe refuge center for survivors of violence, better prevention mechanisms and a group of human rights defenders trained and empowered to intervene in sexual violence cases and encourage survivors and families to seek legal justice and medical attention.
Papua New Guinea is One of the Most Dangerous Places for Expectant Mothers
by ZZ Lundberg, New York Minute Mag / In the News
Recent reports have shown that Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the most dangerous countries for mothers and pregnant women. According to the aid agency ChildFund Australia, women in PNG are 35 times more likely to die during pregnancy than women in Australia.
One of the biggest issues that leads to death or severe complications for both the mother and child is a lack of supervised births at adequate birthing facilities. In 2016, only 40 percent of women in PNG gave birth at a health facility with a specialized birth attendant.
“No woman should die giving birth. Yet in a country just 160 kilometers north of Australia, women are losing their lives every day during childbirth due to unsafe conditions and causes that are completely preventable,”
Telephone counseling saves lives
by Diana Quick / In the News
Papua New Guinea’s first free telephone counseling service 1-Tok Kaunselin Helpim Lain has received more than 5000 calls in its second year of operation, a two fold increase from its first year.
Launched by ChildFund Papua New Guinea in 2015, in partnership with Consultative Implementation Monitoring Council (CIMC) Family Sexual Violence Action Committee (FSVAC) and FHI 360, analysis of call data for the past 12 months found that the top three issues for callers were: relationship advice, physical and sexual violence (mostly perpetrated by an intimate partner) and child welfare concerns.