The Marie Stopes Lae centre, from 3rd St at Top Town, has been moved to Parer St at Eriku.
The new centre has a ramp for people with disabilities, a spacious reception area for waiting clients and two private rooms for clients; one with a standard obstetrics bed.
Marie Stopes PNG Country Director, Angelyn Famudi, outlined that this morning’s event was not only to commemorate the opening of their new centre, but also to focus on the importance of sexual and reproductive health (SRH). This includes the introduction of their lab and imaging services, set to be launched in a few weeks’ time.
“The lab services are specialised in terms of general medicine,” said Famudi. “This is something we have been working on. This will be coming up in the next two to three weeks’ time. Realistically, we are looking at April. This is attached to our SRH services so we want to be a one-stop shop for families that actually access the centre.
“In terms of the imaging also, this is for pregnancies, managing pregnancies; we want mothers and women – even girls – to be able to access this service within the centre.”
Marie Stopes has two centres; one in Port Moresby and another in Lae. Famudi said they are targeting all stages of women’s health; from girls to teenagers, mothers and grandmothers.
All women and girls are encouraged to visit the Marie Stopes centres and talk to their highly-trained staff.
“Reproductive health is very important, especially for women. It’s your choice, it’s your body. You need to know what’s best for you in terms of your future,” said Famudi.
“Sometimes in Papua New Guinea, we understand the cultural dynamics. Culturally, it’s one of those areas where, even if you’re married, you get consent from your husband, your extended family. But in reality, at the end of the day, it is a woman’s right to be able to be empowered to make that choice that really affects her life.
“For me, personally, I feel that reproductive health and reproductive life is an area that we need to be able to champion across our girls because it really speaks volumes in terms of their future.”