Partnerships between midwives from Australia and Papua New Guinea help to improve infant and maternal outcomes.
Although they are close neighbours, the experience of pregnancy and birth for women in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is vastly different from Australia. In PNG there are numerous barriers to accessing quality maternity care and this results in a high rate of preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.
In April this year, seven Australian midwives visited PNG to collaborate with local midwives as part of the PNG Midwifery Leadership Buddy Program (Buddy Program).
The aim of the program is to build leadership skills so that midwives have the confidence to drive initiatives that will result in better health outcomes. The Buddy Program is funded and managed by the Rotary Club of Morialta (South Australia) and The Rotary Club of Port Moresby (PNG), in partnership with PNG Midwifery Society and the Australian College of Midwives.
The Buddy Program supports midwives to participate in a 5-day workshop in Port Moresby focusing on leadership and advocacy. As part of the workshop, participants have a clinical immersion day, where they go into the field and meet with the local midwives in hospitals and universities. During their time together, the Australian midwives are allocated two PNG buddies, who they work with through varied means of communication over a 12-month period. In addition to general peer support, the buddies undertake a quality improvement project of their choosing. Past graduates of the program visit during the workshop and offer insights for success with the projects and beyond.
Dr Helen Hall, Rotary member and an Adjunct Professor at Federal University, is one of the lead facilitators. She emphasizes that the Buddy Program is not about teaching clinical skills, but rather it’s about building confidence and leadership skills, that enables midwives to bring about positive change.
This year was the fifth cohort to participate. When the project finishes in 2026, a total of 52 midwives from PNG and 34 from Australia, will have competed the Buddy Program. These midwives will continue to utilize their leadership and advocacy skills resulting in ongoing benefits to women and families in their respective communities.
Why are programs like this so important?
DEVELOPING MIDWIFERY LEADERSHIP
Leadership and advocacy skills are vital for the implementation of local strategies and policies that optimise infant and maternal outcomes.
PROMOTING GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING AND FRIENDSHIP
Facilitating opportunities for midwives from different countries to connect, not only increases understanding and knowledge, but also builds a global community which raises the visibility of midwifery.
FOSTERING MIDWIFERY PARTNERSHIPS BENEFITS WOMEN & THEIR FAMILIES
Peer support is an effective way to progress small quality improvement projects that result in tangible benefits for the local community.
FOSTERING MIDWIFERY PARTNERSHIPS BENEFITS MIDWIVES
Programs that engage midwives from diverse settings in respectful partnerships, support midwives to do their best and have the potential to be both professionally and personally satisfying for all.
