PROPOSAL FOR FEDERATION PROJECT BIENNIUM PERIOD: 2010-2012
SISWP Birthing in the Pacific: Improving Maternity Services [BIP]
Proposed by SI Business on Collins, Melbourne, Victoria, (Australia) with the full support of SI Port Moresby.
1. Background
Papua New Guinea is the largest developing country in the South Pacific region but
has great difficulty in translating strong economic growth and political stability into
improved development outcomes and it remains unlikely that it will achieve any of
the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
SI Business on Collins has designed a project which will help to address MDG 4
and 5 which will reduce child mortality and improve maternal health by 2015. The
perinatal mortality rate at Port Moresby General Hospital is about 60 per 1,000 (in
Australia the rate is 10 per 1,000).
Port Moresby Hospital
2. Description
The project will provide midwifery and nursing education for students and midwives to enable them to reach
international nursing and national midwifery practice standards. It will work with the Nurses Council of Papua
New Guinea to ensure trainee midwives achieve competency certification in mandatory emergency procedures.
While the focus is on Port Moresby, as the main maternity hospital in PNG, it is expected that rural and remote
midwives and nurses will be included in the proposed training. The target for the project is consistent with
Soroptimist target demographic as the nurses and patients range in age from early teens to advanced years.
It is projected that one hundred and twenty nurses and midwives will undertake competency based training to
bring their level of skills up to international standard.
This education program will be conducted in the hospital. Education will be provided by midwives from
Australia, in accordance with and to meet world’s best practice based on Standards for Health Care Services for
PNG. For sustainability, the program will also provide resources that will enable the trained, up-skilled local
midwives to deliver the program in the future. Locating the program at the tertiary hospital will enable and
encourage participation by midwives and nurses to come from rural and remote areas, where education is not
available. The program will benefit from having a captive audience, but the participants will also gain from having
easy access where the program trainers can easily familiarise themselves with the conditions that their
participants work under.
3. Objectives
(a) Improve maternity skills of midwives to minimise the risk of infant morbidity and mortality and also to support
development of professional PNG women.
(b) Up skill staff who are in transition from general nursing to maternity nursing, by enhancing their knowledge
of maternity care, postnatal care, care of the newborn, infection control and personal hygiene, with an
expectation that they will eventually meet the requirements of being fully qualified in midwifery.
(c) Provide personal growth opportunities to benefit mothers and girls who will participate in personal hygiene
and infection control education to reduce levels of infection and increase personal confidence and family well
being.
(d) Provide a drinking water supply in the waiting area in labour ward.
(e) Extend an existing food project providing women with food whilst in the hospital and also vouchers to attend
post natal care.
(f) Provide a shaded waiting area with comfort facilities for waiting families outside the labour ward of the Port
Moresby General Hospital.
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(g) Provide an oxygen generator in the Port Moresby Hospital with training and maintenance.
SI Business on Collins will manage the above services and support over a planned two year schedule.
4. Activities
How will it make an improvement?
By providing midwifery and nursing education for students and midwives to enable them to reach international
nursing and midwifery practice standards. The project will work with the Nurses and Midwives Board of Papua
New Guinea to ensure accreditation of the certification of the program. Key activities include:
(a) Three programs will be conducted per year, with an intake of twenty nurses/midwives per program. (One
week of tutorials and one week of supervised clinical bedside training).
(b) The project aims to engage local providers and will make arrangements with local stores to honour food
vouchers for birthing women, rather than give out money.
(c) The project will use some of the resources to purchase water filter equipment for the ward, but will also
provide training for maintenance of equipment to ensure that there is limited ongoing input by the project.
(d) Provision of an oxygen concentrator in the Port Moresby Hospital with training and maintenance.
(e) SI Port Moresby continues to provide mothers and new babies with comfort packs.
5. Local Community Involvement and Other Organisations
The following local PNG organisations will support the project: SI Port
Moresby, Port Moresby General Hospital, University of PNG and Premier
Biomedical (for the oxygen generator).
International organisations who have committed to assist:
(a) From Australia: Riverside Lions, Tasmania, Rotary Club Mt Eliza,
Victoria, Zonta International of South Australia and the Professional
Midwives from Australia
(b) From PNG: Rotary Club of Boroko, Port Moresby, School of Nursing/
Midwifery, University of Papua New Guinea, POM, PNG and Friends of
the Labour Ward, Port Moresby General Hospital.
Alana Street (SI Business on Collins) and friends
6. Goals
Soroptimist International Goals are very relevant to this project, namely to ensure that women and girls will enjoy
equity and equality, live in safe and healthy environments, have access to education and have access to
developing leadership and practical skills.
7. Sample Budget
The program and project will benefit from donated services from Australian midwives and from donations of
equipment and supplies for the hospital. These supplies and financial donations will be collected and be
managed under the auspices of the Federation Project (BIP) by SI Business on Collins. The following sample
budget is based on an anticipated funding target of AUD $72,450.00.
Description AUD (est)
Education Programme – internationally accredited (non-recurring) 5,000
Teaching materials, printing, photocopying, stationery 950
Educators - 2 persons, initial setting up (inc air travel, visas, insurance, security cover, acc’dation) 10,000
General Needs - IT , meeting rooms, equipment hire, meals for trainees etc 4,700
Administration assistant training – 6 weeks wages while training 1,200
Shade Cloth Construction (with volunteer labour - Lions Club) 1,000
Fresh Water Supply and maintenance 1,200
Oxygen Generator Supply, maintenance and training 45,000
Rural and Remote Midwives Education in Port Moresby 3,400
72,450
