Mothers’ Day:Papua New Guinea among countries where maternal healthcare remains neglected

by Asma Ghani, tribune.com.pk
May 13, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Mother’s Day was celebrated on May 12 to honour mothers in the region. However, in Pakistan the government has put little effort into creating a healthcare plan for mothers, making the maternal mortality rate high among impoverished communities. The lack of an appropriately implemented health plan also leaves many women in poor health after giving birth.

Representational image. PHOTO: REUTERS

The Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) 2006-2007 estimated that about 276 women die during pregnancy or after within 42 days due to complications among 100,000 women who give birth in a year. However, the last survey was completely silent about the matter, leaving us with no recent authentic data on maternal deaths in Pakistan.

According to recent UN agency for population (UNFPA) State of the World Population Report 2017, countries such as Bangladesh, Laos, East Timor and Indonesia are seen as being likely to bring their Maternal Mortality Ratios (MMRs) below 70 deaths per 100,000 by the 2030 deadline, in accordance with the UN Sustainable Goals (SDGs). But others like Pakistan join the list of those that would not able to meet this deadline including Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, Cambodia and the Philippines.

The PDHS 2012-2013 says that about 73% pregnant women in Pakistan receive prenatal care from a skilled healthcare provider (doctor, nurse, midwife, or lady health visitor), but only 52% of women give birth assisted by a skilled provider. And only 48% mothers deliver babies in health facilities. The situation in rural areas is the worst with only 40% of pregnant women giving birth in any health facility, while in urban areas 68% of women give birth in proper healthcare facilities.

One in four women had no prenatal care at all. Prenatal care varies by region as about 30% of women in Balochistan received prenatal care from a skilled provider compared to 94% in Islamabad.

Pregnant women should take iron tablets for at least 90 days during pregnancy to prevent anemia and other complications. According to a government survey only two in ten women took iron tablets for at least 90 days during their pregnancy.

The health of mothers is frail and there are many social, cultural and policy level reasons for that, said Reproductive Health Expert and Maternal Neonatal and Child Health Consultant Dr Samina Naeem Khalid.

Midwives and lady health visitors are not properly trained to refer expecting mothers to the hospitals at an appropriate time, she said, and mothers who after gathering a budget and transport reach basic and rural health centers do not get proper care due to a lack of facilities. The tertiary care hospitals are overworked even in the federal capital and not able to cater to women coming from far off areas with complications, she added.

Even if mothers survive by luck, their nutritional health is poor, she said, adding, “More than half of the women are anemic and giving birth to malnourished children. Marriage at a young age and frequent pregnancies aggravate the situation”.

The provincial governments establish maternal and child healthcare programmes but do not add enough to the budget to expand and equip health facilities to provide better and skilled maternal care. If we want to improve the health of the nation, we will have to give priority to mothers, she asserted.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13th, 2018.

Raiders to auction jerseys for Kato Ottio fund


nrl.com | May 12, 2018

Indigenous round for the Canberra Raiders takes on extra significance as they again reach out to help the family of Kato Ottio.

The late Kato Otto played for the  Raiders.

©Grant Trouville/NRL Photos

Ottio tragically died early this year when he collapsed after a training run while in Papua New Guinea.

Canberra's jerseys will be auctioned off following their clash with the Cronulla Sharks on Sunday, with proceeds going to the Kato Ottio Memorial Fund.

The 23-year-old's death rocked the Raiders family and coach Ricky Stuart said the auction is the latest measure to try and ease the suffering of Ottio's family.

"Knowing the club how I do, it won't be the last time we help the family," Stuart said.

"Kato was a very special member of the Canberra Raiders and I know we will continue to support that family for a long time ahead. That's what makes our club so great."

Stuart said he expects Paul Gallen to play, with the Cronulla Sharks skipper being given every chance to prove he has overcome a knee injury.

Sharks coach Shane Flanagan is likely to have Gallen on a time restriction if he plays in the crucial clash at GIO Stadium on Sunday.

"I know he's going to be here because he's asked me to help his young bloke out being a ball boy," Stuart said.

"I said 'if he wears a Raiders jumper he can do whatever he wants'. If he plays he plays, if he doesn't he doesn't. Gal will know if he's right and we're planning on him playing.

"He's their spiritual leader and they always give us a tough performance at home, so without or without Gal we're waiting for a really tough game."



Canberra will be aiming for their fifth win in six games and a place inside the top eight for the first time this season after losing their first four.

"Every game's important, especially when you see the congestion of the competition table," Stuart said.

"Stringing a few games together really gives you a boost in the position on the table at the moment."

With wins over bottom eight teams Canterbury, Parramatta, North Queensland and Gold Coast Titans, Sunday's duel with the Sharks shapes as one of Canberra's biggest tests of the season.

Stuart is confident in his side and refuses to buy into the notion the Raiders have only beaten teams not in the finals picture.

"I don't care what other people think of our footy team as - it's what we believe in," he said.

"I know what I've got here when we play well. From the outside looking in, I don't care what opinion is out there. It's about what we've got here and when we're on and we all play to our strengths, we're a strong footy team."

Canberra Raiders keeping Kato Ottio's dream alive

The Sydney Morning Herald
By Caden Helmers
12 May 2018

Kato Ottio had a smile that could light up a room, and you would be hard-pressed to find a photo of him that doesn't show it.

Kato Ottio had a smile that could light up a room.

He arrived at Canberra Raiders headquarters with one goal - earn enough money to build his mother a house in Papua New Guinea.

Sia Soliola modelling the jersey that will be auctioned off for the Kato Ottio memorial fund.

At first he was almost silent - he knew little English and was a long way from home. But he was embraced by the club that is now working tirelessly to "keep his dream alive".
The Raiders were rocked when Ottio died of heatstroke in January, two days before he was due to fly to England to join the Super League's Widnes Vikings.
Now the club is paying tribute to Ottio through its indigenous round jerseys, which will bear his name on the inside collar when the Raiders face the Cronulla Sharks at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.
The jersey was unveiled after an indigenous smoking ceremony at Raiders headquarters and boasts the handprints of players from different backgrounds.
It is the name on the inside collar that will be on Raiders prop Sia Soliola's mind when he enters the playing arena.
"He was really quiet when he first came, as expected, but he really grew group on the group," Soliola said.
"With a lot of the photos you’ve seen, he just never stopped smiling. In 99 per cent of the photos that everyone would have seen of Kato was when he was smiling, because that’s just the kind of character he was.
"He loved a good time, enjoyed anybody’s company, and he always liked to joke. He was actually a bit of a practical joker which was always nice to see. A couple of years after he was quite a cheeky fella which was actually pretty cool.
"For someone like Kato who was minimal in his English and still learning the game, taking him away from PNG and the groups he was used to, to come down here and achieve all the things he did and made a real big impact in terms of who he was.
"It’s awesome that the club can promote and take one step further in doing this for Kato and keeping his dream alive, making it more of a reality."
Ottio's presence was felt from the field to the boardroom, with Raiders chief executive Don Furner exploring the possibility of launching a scholarship for a rugby league player from Papua New Guinea in Ottio's honour.
"Honestly everyone really liked him, he was just always happy. It’s unbelievably tragic," Furner said.
"To be honest he would have been an NRL player with us the following year, but he did the knee and it was a pretty bad knee reco and he probably needed a bit more time.
"We thought it wouldn’t hurt him to go to England, do a year or two over there, and then keep our eye on him. He’d come a long way from being a volleyballer.
"He was very good over the first two years and gained confidence after the knee reco. It would have been a fantastic story. It’s just very, very sad but I know his family are very grateful for our continued efforts."
The jerseys will be auctioned off in the second memorial dedicated to Ottio after the club held a memorial service led by the Capital Wantoks following the round two clash with Newcastle.
The Raiders flew Ottio's his mother Joyce and siblings Ahulo, Opao and Helai to Canberra for that game and coach Ricky Stuart says the Kumuls flyer will always be a part of the Green Machine.
"Knowing the club how I do, it won’t be the last time we help the family," Stuart said.
"Kato was a very special member of the Canberra Raiders and I know that we will continue to support that family for a long time ahead. That’s what makes our club so great."

Donate to the Kato Ottio memorial fund here.

NRL ROUND 10

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks at Canberra Stadium, 4.10pm.

Tickets from Ticketek.

Raiders: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joseph Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Iosia Soliola, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Joseph Tapine, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Josh Papalii. Interchange from: 14. Ata Hingano, 15. Luke Bateman, 16. Charlie Gubb, 17. Dunamis Lui, 18. Liam Knight, 19. Michael Oldfield.
Sharks: 1. Valentine Holmes, 2. Sosaia Feki, 3. Jesse Ramien, 4. Ricky Leutele, 5. Edrick Lee, 6. Matt Moylan, 7. Chad Townsend, 8. Andrew Fifita, 9. Jayden Brailey, 10. Matt Prior, 11. Kurt Capewell, 14. Joseph Paulo, 13. Paul Gallen (c). Interchange from: 15. James Segeyaro, 16. Avagalu Seumanufagai, 17. Jack Williams, 18. Kurt Dillion, 19. Braden Uele, 20. Briton Nikora.

Caden Helmers is a sports reporter for The Canberra Times

Russian vessel poised for historic port call in Papua New Guinea

sputniknews.com
May 12, 2018

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A Russian warship will make a first-ever port call this month in the Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea, Russia’s Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told reporters.

"The Perekop training ship will make a historic business port call in Port Moresby," he said.

" This will be the first port call by a Russian military ship in the history of Russian-Papua New Guinean relations."

The warship with a crew of more than 200 cadets will arrive in the capital of the southwestern Pacific nation next Wednesday and will reportedly stay there through Saturday.

Nararas proudly flying PNG flag

by Malum Nalu, thenational.com.pg
May 11, 2018

THE Flying Nararas from Milne Bay have been holding high the Papua New Guinea flag high internationally from their base in the United Arab Emirates.
The latest achievement was in February, 2018, when young Nigel Narara checked out on the Airbus A330 aircraft as a captain.

Two generations of pilots. Captains Nigel, Tico and Granger Matata in a photo shoot prior to Dublin, Shanghangai and Johannesburg respectively.

He is now flying as a commander on both the A330 and A320 under the mixed-fleet flying programme with Etihad Airways.
Nigel moved to the UAE as a seven-year-old year old when his father Granger Narara began flying for Emirates Airlines in 1991, after leaving Air Niugini to work with Emirates Airlines as an A310 captain
After 15 years in Emirates, Granger moved to Etihad Airways where he is currently a senior instructor on A330/340 aircraft.
Nigel completed all his primary and secondary education in the UAE and went on to Embry Riddle Aeronautical College in Prescott, Arizona, USA in 2001 to do a degree in aeronautical science, until the events of Sept 11, 2001 put an end to those dreams.
He then transferred to the Royal Queensland Aero Club at Archerfield in Brisbane in 2003 where he completed his commercial pilot’s license and instrument rating.
He started his flying career with Milne Bay Airlines (now PNG Air), where he worked from 2004 to 2006, flying the Twin-Otter based in Port Moresby and Kairik in Enga.
In 2007, Nigel was able to secure a job as a cadet first officer with Air Arabia, a low cost airline based in the UAE, flying the Airbus A320 on a regional network, until August 2012 when he was employed by Etihad as a first officer on the Airbus A330.
When the wheels of the Etihad Airways Airbus A330 Flight 055 lifted off the ground in Abu Dhabi bound for Brussels on March 30, 2013, another milestone in PNG aviation history was made.
At the controls of Flight 055 was Captain Granger Narara, of Dobu Island, Milne Bay, and his co-pilot was none other than his oldest son, Nigel Narara.
This was the first time that a PNG father-and-son team was in control of an international airliner and a great achievement for PNG aviation and the Narara family.
“This is the highlight of my 36-year flying career, being able to fly with my son”, Granger said at the time.
“An achievement like this is a great way to tell the world that PNG can and does produce some of the best aviators in the world, something that we as a nation can all be proud of.
“This success is also being replicated in many other top notch professions, notably in the international oil and mining sector where the number of PNG professionals around the planet is increasing.
“We can be very proud that as a small nation we are able to produce pilots, engineers, oil and gas operators and many other professionals that can stand up and be counted amongst the best in the world.”
Nigel said: “I have always wanted to fly with Dad; he wasn’t as hard a captain as I thought he would be.”
His uncle Tico Narara, younger brother of Granger, joined Emirates in 1998 and was the first PNG pilot to commercially fly the big beast, the Airbus A380.
“We feel so blessed that we have been able to achieve so much in our flying careers,” says Captain Granger Narara, the senior.
“It is an honour for our family and our country.”
After this photo shoot, Capt Nigel Narara’s next flight was to Dublin, Ireland, Capt Tico Narara’s next flight was to Shanghai, China and Capt Granger Narara’s next flight was to Johannesburg, South Africa.
The world is really their playground.
Something for other Papua New Guineans to emulate.

Papua New Guinea welcomes Pacific funding boost by Australia and New Zealand

Papua New Guinea welcomes the enhanced financial commitment of Australia and New Zealand to the Pacific, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Rimbink Pato said today.
“The big increase in their budgets by both of these close friends of PNG looks set to give Pacific Island states the opportunity to boost our capacity to develop economically and in governance and security,”Pato said.
“Australia is already our biggest development partner in the Pacific, and to PNG in particular, but this generous increase to $1.3 billion makes it the biggest assistance package ever and so is destined to have a significant impact.
“We are grateful for the support of the esteemed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, his respected Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, and all those other ministers I recently met with in Brisbane and London.
“The extremely generous assistance for us to host APEC—nearly $20 million—and to install an underwater communications cable are examples of the support, but let me also mention the funding for future leaders and many other projects too numerous to list.”
Pato  New Zealand, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced a 30 per cent increase in his country’s foreign aid budget to reach NZ$714 million, "and we are very pleased that this is going to the neighbourhood, to the Pacific".
Pato said it had become clear during recent meetings between Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and his Australian and New Zealand counterparts, as well as between foreign and trade ministers, that the relationship with Papua New Guinea was highly valued.
“As the Pacific Island country with the biggest population, land area and economy, we were strong advocates for boosting the economic, security and general development of all the Pacific Island Forum states and territories, and that was well received by our allies, the Australians and New Zealanders.”

Blue Pacific

 Pato said it was time for the ‘Blue Pacific’ to become a model of development, security and stability, and environmental protection and resilience.
“Our countries form an ‘ocean continent’ and cover a third of the world’s surface, and if we can move ahead in peace and prosperity, then that is a good example to the rest of the world," he said.
“The recent renewed interest in the region by the United Kingdom and France is also a good sign that we will have more opportunities to improve the daily lives of our citizens and the future opportunities for their children.”
Pato said Papua New Guinea also welcomes the development assistance provided by friends such as Japan, the United States of America, South Korea and the People’s Republic of China.
“We encourage those friends to play an appropriate economic and security role in the Pacific as I mentioned, for example to China’s foreign minister, His Excellency Wang Yi just last month,” he said
“As host of APEC this year, we will see all the countries in our region, including the Pacific Island states, come to Papua New Guinea where we believe we will see a renewed commitment to the rules based international order under which trade will be free and fair.”

* Additional Information:

The 2018-19 Australian Government Budget was released on May 8. Total Australian official development assistance to Papua New Guinea will increase from $546.3 million in 2017-18 to $572.2 million in 2018-19.
This funding will go towards initiatives that will directly benefit the lives of Papua New Guineans, such as the new high-speed undersea internet cable to be completed in late-2019, continued access to the Pacific Labour Facility, and continued support for programs that build economic growth and trade opportunities. It will also support ongoing programs in health, education, infrastructure, law and justice, gender and subnational priorities in Papua New Guinea.
http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/corporate/portfolio-budget-statements/Pages/budget-highlights-2018-19.aspx

Australian development assistance to Papua New Guinea increases by $26 million

2018/2019 Budget - Papua New Guinea

Australia has a strong and enduring partnership with Papua New Guinea, our nearest neighbour.

Close cooperation on economic, security, and development matters, as well as a broad range of people-to-people links, highlight the depth and breadth of our relationship.

Development cooperation with Papua New Guinea

• Total Australian official development assistance to Papua New Guinea (PNG) will rise from $546.3 million in 2017/18 to $572.2 million in the 2018/19 financial year

• The bilateral allocation is estimated at $519.5 million, which includes: 

- $62 million for commitments under the Joint Understanding;
- $29.6 million towards the high-speed undersea telecommunications cable; and
- over $400 million to support ongoing programs targeting health, education, - infrastructure, law and justice, gender and subnational priorities in PNG.

Supporting PNG to host APEC in 2018
Australia is expanding its support to bolster PNG’s hosting of APEC:

• $14.4 million to strengthen PNG’s cyber security capabilities in the lead up to hosting APEC Leaders’ Week and beyond; 
• Up to $10 million  to boost internet connectivity  and strengthen telecommunications; and 
• $5.4 million in support for policing, fire fighting and other hosting assistance.

This brings our total support for PNG’s hosting of APEC to $130 million.

Australia’s development assistance priorities

In 2018–19, Australian support for PNG will focus on:

• supporting the future digital economy through the delivery of a new undersea high-speed telecommunications cable from Australia to Port Moresby, a project that will have a positive impact on business engagement and significant social benefits 
• improving the lives of women and girls across all areas of work through investments that: enhance women’s voice in decision-making, leadership and peace building; promote economic empowerment; end violence against women and girls; and increase access to support services
• enabling economic growth by investing in infrastructure, innovation and business partnerships; leveraging finance for development; supporting agriculture and rural development; improving the business enabling environment; developing improved financial markets; and deepening financial inclusion 
• supporting effective governance, with an emphasis on working with provinces and districts to improve service delivery and economic opportunity; supporting the contribution of communities, churches and the private sector; and enhancing the accountability, legitimacy and responsiveness of law and justice agencies
• enhancing health by targeting maternal and child health and communicable diseases; strengthening health security; and helping to build a more effective health system
• enhancing the education sector by improving the quality of education for young children; equipping students with the skills and qualifications necessary for employment; and nurturing the leadership qualities needed for the country’s development
• cultivating a culture of gender inclusiveness.