Luckily the 50 Health Guides ‘Where Women have No Doctors’ CFK sent to Kiriwina to be distributed to the Village Birth Attendants arrived just before the borders were closed.
Sapaira Jacob (Mulosaida Village VBA) at the background
just as the borders closed.
Caring for Kiriwina is honoring the dedication and courage of nurses, midwives and Village Birth Attendants during this crisis. We need to advocate for the working conditions that allow them to provide quality health care, and to do so safely. Sufficient personal protective equipment – masks, gloves, gowns, etc. – as well as adequate staffing levels and equipment are needed. Nurses and VBA’s are the backbone of our health systems and it’s way past time their working conditions recognized that.
CFK is happy to provide protective items, we have the means but not the funding to do so:(
Midwives and VBA’s have been caring for mothers and babies since the beginning of time. The increase in and wisdom of home births during this pandemic highlight their central role in supporting maternal and child health.As we gratefully acknowledge nurses, midwives and VBA’s for their work during this COVID-19 pandemic, we should make our thanks concrete by supporting the systemic social changes that will enable them to improve health for all during and after this crisis.
Thank you Hesperian for these words (CFK have added VBA’s)