Dr Joyce Sauk

Health expert highlights strategies of improving maternal deaths

Dr Sauk highlighted that supervised deliveries and improving the overall family planning coverage greatly improves maternal deaths, at least up to 75 percent.

She revealed that PNG has seen a decreasing supervised delivery statistics at 36 percent and family planning prevalence of 20 percent due to challenges with access to facilities.

Dr Sauk said medical causes of maternal deaths in PNG and almost all preventable include infections following births, miscarriage, abortion, anaemia, malaria, tuberculosis and gender based violence.

Girls need education to make better decisions: Advisor

NCD Health Services technical advisor women's health, Dr Lutty Amos, made the statement during the commemoration of International Women's Day yesterday.

She said women must be appreciated for playing a big role in juggling motherhood, parenting and work.

Dr Amos was part of a panel of discussion consisting of prominent women in a first-of-its-kind event.

Members in the panel included Ambassador of the United States to PNG, Catherine Ebert-Gray, NCDHS coordinator of district health Dr Joyce Sauk and Lynda Babao O'Neill.