“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” Psalm 139:13-14.
BWP is proud to be a supporter of the Village Health Volunteer Program based in Papua New Guinea. This program is implemented by the Baptist Union of Papua New Guinea Health Services (BUPNG).
The project has been focusing on training Village Health Volunteers (VHV) & Village Birth Attendants (VBA) to provide assistance to Community Health Workers (CHWs), in rural and remote facilities. These volunteers can supplement the midwifery workforce in providing the continuum of care for mothers during pregnancy, labour (childbirth), and postnatally. Additionally, they provide health education on family planning, nutrition and immunization.
Improving maternal health is key to saving the lives of more than a million women who die as a result of complications from pregnancy and child birth, as well communicable diseases, such as HIV and malaria, Tuberculosis; and non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and depression each year. Almost all deaths could have been saved if women in rural disadvantaged and urban marginalised had accessed to adequate diets, clean safe water and sanitation facilities, basic literacy and health services during pregnancy and child birth.
This year BWP was able to finance the training of Village Health Volunteers in 20 new villages and the strengthening of the existing VHV network in existing villages in 2021 – 2022 financial year. This was made possible through the generous donations of Baptist women from the Pacific especially Australia and New Zealand.
bwpacific.org 