Village birth attendants play a critical role in reducing PNG’s maternal and infant mortality rate.
Yet, they are mostly overlooked and forgotten as they help rural mothers to safely deliver their babies in gardens, on moving vehicles or in bush material homes.
With no proper roads and bridges, heavily pregnant women have to walk for hours to get medical assistance, with some losing their lives along the way.
Despite their critical roles, VBAs are still working odd hours with no incentive or acknowledgement from their elected leaders.
During a recent trip to Aseki, in Morobe’s Menyamya District, Poiyu’s village birth attendant and women’s representative, Tinola Manas, showed Morobe’s community development officers her makeshift waiting and delivery rooms.
Manas lives upstairs with her family while her clients are served downstairs. In a room that can barely fit three people, a rudimentary bed made of split bamboo canes serves as the delivery bed while a thatched hut outside serves as the waiting and recovery room.
Manas lamented the challenging conditions that they are forced to work in, where VBAs walk great distances to assist pregnant women; crossing flooded rivers and climbing steep and slippery mountains during the day or even at night.
With no incentive or allowance, they serve the general populace whilst struggling to feed their own families.
“Ol mama kisim pei lo em, ol sa stap, rileks, kisim mani na kaikai,” she said. (Mothers who get paid can relax, get their money and eat.)
“Mi wok nating ya, mi no save kisim helpim gut. Trangu tupla pikinini blo mi, tupla save hangere. (I work with no form of assistance. My two children used to go hungry.)
“Disla kain wok ya, mi pilim olsem em hat lo mi bai holim hamaspla laif. Mi stap lo peirol em bai orait.” (I feel that this job is hard. It’d be much better if I was on the payroll.)
Fellow VBA, Betty Yawa, questioned whether the provincial government is aware of their existence.
“Taim blo ren, taim blo nait, nogat gutpla slip blo mipla, nogat gutpla kaikai blo mipla, femili hangre, mipla stap lo gaden – ol sa wok lo kisim mipla. (In wet weather or at night, we don’t sleep or eat properly, our families go hungry and when we’re in the garden – they come looking for us.
“Mama no save karim gut lo em, ol save kisim mipla lo wok blo mipla. (When pregnant women experience complications, they come looking for us.)
“Olsem na mi gat bikpla askim lo nau yupla kam ya; provinsel (gavman) olsem wanem? Em save lukluk lo disla kain mama o nogat?” (That’s why I have a burning question for those of you who are here; what’s up with the provincial government? Are they concerned about the welfare of mothers like us?)
(Two of these babies were delivered in Tinola Manas’ makeshift delivery room in Poiya village, Menyamya district)
