Give Our Neighbours' Babies the Same Chance as Those Born in Australia

Right now, just two hours from Australia’s shores, babies and mothers are dying — denied the level of healthcare that we take for granted. Almost half of all pregnant women give birth without the help of a midwife or doctor and a fifth have absolutely no pre-natal care before they give birth.

The number of mothers who die in childbirth in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the worst in the world and sadly more than 5% of babies will die before they reach the age of two.

Unfortunately, because PNG is so remote, access to doctors and healthcare is a major challenge and there is a real lack of facilities in these rural areas. In addition, the training of local people in critical healthcare services is not prioritised and there is a shortage of supplies of vaccines and other life-saving equipment. Papua New Guinea has abundant natural resources, including oil, gas and gold and with their extraction, the country’s GDP has been steadily improving over the past decade. Despite this however, much of the population still lives in poverty and the situation for women and children in particular is very poor.

It doesn't have to be this way. Australian Doctors International recruits and sends volunteer doctors and health workers to PNG to save lives and train local health workers. With investment in training, staffing, building health-posts and provision of equipment, less people will die of preventable diseases like malaria and TB and mothers will safely deliver their babies.

But we need your help. Take a stand today and show that Australians care about the people of PNG and want them to have access to critical basic healthcare.