Papua New Guinea is facing some serious realities with regards to women and family planning.  It is estimated that only 20% of women use a modern method of family planning, they have an average of four children, with this rate being higher in rural areas, and for every 100,000 births 470 women will die.  This rate of maternal mortality is over 115 times higher than in Australia and reflects the lack of access to high-quality family planning education and services.

The Marie Stopes team in Papua New Guinea works from two centres, one in Port Moresby and the other in Lae Morobe province, providing clinical services in a region with a huge need. Through these two centres the team help thousands of women every year to protect themselves from unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

The Papua New Guinea program also focuses on young people working tirelessly to bring them up-to-date sexual health information and safe contraceptive services. With over 50% of the population in Papua New Guinea under the age of 19 and rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections being high in this age group, creating programs and initiatives to specifically reach this group is essential.  To reach out to at-risk young people in Papua New Guinea, the team built the Orinamaoro Hausbung or ‘gathering place for good, young people’ a youth-friendly centre built in a needy district.  Another youth-friendly initiative in Papua New Guinea is the Young People’s Hotline project which takes questions from young people about; how to practice safe sex, STIs, menstruation, virginity, the legalities of abortion in Papua New Guinea and homosexuality.

Current Projects

• 2 centres which provide family planning in conjunction with outreach services
• Young People’s Hotline which answers the questions that young people have about sexual health
• Orinamaoro Hausbung or ‘gathering place for good, young people’ centre located in the needy 8-mile district

Her Story

A settlement of about 7,000 mostly young people, 8-Mile is the perfect location for the youth centre, where young people can now access information about HIV/AIDS, STIs, teen pregnancy, peer pressure, gender equity and the effects of violence against women. In 2009, Australian Senator Claire Moore and Dame Carol Kidu, the only female member of the Papua New Guinean Parliament, visited the centre and Senator Moore said, ‘Good partnership between organisations such as Marie Stopes Papua New Guinea and communities is an effective step in bringing about lasting development. Australia can learn so much from Papua New Guinea’.