Papua New Guinea: How first-aid training helped a local mother save a one-year-old boy

It was during a high tide in early January when a tragic incident unfolded on the shores of Mualim Island, located in the Duke of York Islands in the eastern part of Papua New Guinea.A toddler, just a year and a half old, was playing on the beach with other children when the waves grew stronger and swept the child into the sea. A woman walking along the shore saw the child floating in the water and let out a desperate scream for help.The child's mother rushed into the water and pulled the baby out in a desperate attempt to save the boy’s life. In a moment of panic, she handed the baby to a nearby man, who held the child upside down in an attempt to expel the water out of the child’s body—a common but dangerous misconception on the island.Fortunately, not far away, Elizabeth Hensel was at home when she heard the screams and shouting. She ran as fast as she could to the scene.“I told the man to lay the baby down, and quickly checked the pulse, and started CPR,”Elizabeth recalls. “After two rounds of chest compression, the baby regained consciousness and spat out all the water.”“I advised the mother to take the child to the health centre for observation. Today, the baby is alive and well.”Training to the testA mother of six, Elizabeth had recently participated in a Community-Based First Aid training conducted by the Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society (PNG Red Cross).The trainings were done as part of a project that focuses on locally led adaptation to climate change as well asensuring everyone in the community is included and fully protected. The project is funded by the Japanese Red Cross Society through the IFRC’s Papua New Guinea country delegation.This training didn’t just equip Elizabeth with skills—it empowered her to save lives and promote health and safety in her Island village. Elizabeth is one of 37 people who recently participated in the training.Climate change: a growing threatElizabeth’s story is also a stark reminder of the challenges her community faces. Rising sea levels are swallowing their island, inch by inch.“The sea is moving inward, and the island is becoming smaller,” Elizabeth explains. “But our population is growing, so the density is increasing. We have nowhere to go because this is our customary land.”This is one reason the Papua New Guinea Red Cross, with support from the IFRC, is carrying out the PNG Locally Led Climate Action Project across five provinces in Papua New Guinea. The project aims to address climate change and promote community-based disaster risk reduction. It also focuses on empoweringwomen and youth through activities that encourage gender equity, food security and environment sustainability.The impacts of climate change are felt daily. Families in the island now pay 10 kin (2.15 Swiss francs) monthly to rent land on the main island for backyard gardening, as their own land is shrinking in size, leaving no space for planting food crops.Children risk their lives canoeing to school on neighboring islands, battling rising tides and unpredictable weather. “When the sea levels rise, it becomes harder and riskier for our children to commute,” Elizabeth says. “We are trapped between the sea and the sky.”Promoting community health and safetyElizabeth’s Health and first aid skills have made her an advocate in her island community motivated by struggles of the past. She now educates other mothers on the importance of never leaving children unattended.“Before we received the training, we lost three babies while trying to refer them to the nearest hospital,” she shares. “It takes 45 minutes by dinghy or 1-2 hours by canoe. Now, we can save lives immediately. We regret not having this knowledge sooner.”The training also covered childbirth, a critical skill in a community where 2-3 babies are born each month. “Before, mothers would struggle to deliver babies as the nearest health centre is on another nearby island,” Elizabeth explains. “Now, we have the knowledge to help deliver babies safely here if we are not able to go to the health centre on time.”Elizabeth’s story is a powerful reminder of the importance of locally led climate adaptation and building resilience in isolated communities. “We would like to undergo similar trainings in the future, especially on climate change and PGI,” she says. “Refresher trainings would also help us retain and expand on what we have learned.”Story and photo by Bradley Asa, communications and dissemination officer for the Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society.Learn more about first aid throughout the IFRC network.Learn more about the IFRC's approach to community health

Pacific: Urgent call for collective action to reduce the impact of climate change and disasters

Suva, 23 February 2023 – The escalating impact from climate hazards will destroy decades of development progress in the Pacific if there is not a major shift from disaster response to anticipatory action, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) concluded during this week’s Red Cross Pacific Leaders Meeting in Suva, Fiji. Pacific island states make up the majority of countries that suffer the highest relative losses – between 1 percent and 9 percent of their GDP – from the impact of natural hazards. Katie Greenwood, IFRC’s Pacific Head of Delegation, said: “We have a lot of humanitarian challenges in the Pacific which we need to address together as a region and not only as the Red Cross in each country. Climate change and disasters are all constantly affecting our region in some shape or form. We need to ensure resources, financing, and knowledge to address the challenges of climate change are available to be able to better anticipate how we can prepare and respond. To effectively manage the risks of disasters, we need to focus on investing in disaster response as well as resilience building actions ahead of disasters which also supports risk-informed development. As a result, we can minimise the human and economic losses that can set back a country’s development progress." Climate change is exacerbating underlying vulnerabilities which will continue to degrade livelihoods and resilience as the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as cyclones and floods are set to increase in the coming decades. Further compounded with longer term, severe events such as droughts, sea level rise, king tides and saltwater intrusion, the Red Cross must lead, with their communities across the Pacific, on anticipation and preparedness for the changing nature of disaster impact. “More must be done in terms of anticipatory action, adaptation, and preparedness, to save lives and livelihoods.” The Red Cross in the Pacific are Australian Red Cross, Cook Islands Red Cross, Fiji Red Cross, Kiribati Red Cross, Marshall Islands Red Cross, Micronesia Red Cross, New Zealand Red Cross, Palau Red Cross, Papua New Guinea Red Cross, Samoa Red Cross, Solomon Islands Red Cross, Tonga Red Cross, Tuvalu Red Cross and Vanuatu Red Cross. For more information or to arrange an interview, contact: In Suva: Soneel Ram, +679 9983 688, [email protected]

World Immunization Week: going the last mile to keep communities safe from COVID-19

Immunization is the foundation of healthy communities. And right now, in the continued fight against COVID-19, vaccines are one of many important tools we have to keep communities around the world safe and healthy. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is supporting COVID-19 vaccination efforts in 172 countries. And, together, our National Societies have supported more than 325 million people to access COVID-19 vaccination globally. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve made special efforts to reach vulnerable, marginalized and hard-to-reach communities worldwide. To go what we call the ‘last mile’—because all people, no matter who or where they are, deserve access to health services, vaccines, testing and lifesaving treatment. And because we know that no one is safe until everyone is safe. So, what does this work actually look like? Scroll down to discover photos and examples from five different countries: Papua New Guinea, Libya, Zambia, Kyrgyzstan and Canada. And if you like what you read, sign up to the IFRC’s immunization newsletter for a monthly round-up of immunization activities in response to COVID-19 and other diseases. Papua New Guinea Papua New Guineahas one of the lowest vaccination coverage rates in the world. The Papua New Guinea Red Cross is working closely with provincial health authorities in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, and a crucial part of this work involves building public confidence in vaccination. Volunteers are providing accurate, reliable and trusted public health information about COVID-19 vaccination. In many cases, they work in partnership with local community groups—such as the Country Women Association in Madang province—to reach people in spaces they already feel comfortable in. By listening and responding to people’s concerns about the vaccines, they are dispelling people’s fears and encouraging more and more people to come forward for their jab. Libya The Libyan Red Crescent Society is partnering with the Libyan National Centre for Disease Control to support the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination—with a focus on community engagement and logistical support. More than 600 volunteers have been going out and about in their communities to engage with local people and answer their questions about vaccines. Volunteers have been helping with vaccine registration and data entry, so people can sign up for their jabs, and several Libyan Red Crescent health clinics in the south of the country are currently being used as vaccination centres. Zambia Zambia Red Cross Society volunteers are running a mobile COVID-19 vaccination campaign to take vaccines out to remote and hard-to-reach communities across the country. They’re working with trusted local community leaders, helping them to be advocates for COVID-19 vaccines so that their communities feel confident coming forward. Volunteers are also working hard to continue routine immunization activities across the country so that all Zambian children are fully immunized before the age of 5. Kyrgyzstan Hundreds of Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent Society volunteers across the country have dedicated their time to supporting the Ministry of Health and Social Development’s rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. They set up a special COVID-19 vaccination hotline to answer the public’s questions and address rumours and misinformation about vaccines. And they’ve been deployed to vaccination centres to lead vaccine registration and data entry so people can easily schedule their appointments. Canada In Canada, the Canadian Red Crosshas been supporting provincial, territorial and Indigenous health authorities in vaccination efforts among remote and Indigenous communities. For instance, in Northern Alberta, CRC’s Indigenous staff have been embedded into mobile vaccination teams to help understand and address the roots of vaccine hesitancy. They’ve been supported virtually by an Indigenous People’s Help Desk, set up to respond to the unique needs of Indigenous leadership during the pandemic. -- For more information, visit our immunization page or sign up to the IFRC's monthly immunization newsletter.

Urgent action needed as COVID-19 overwhelms PNG health system

Kuala Lumpur/Port Moresby, 22 October 2021 – The International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) calls for concerted international action to support Papua New Guinea (PNG) as a surge in COVID-19 cases overwhelms the country’s health system. The latest surge has seen the highest number of daily COVID-19 cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic. Uvenama Rova, PNG Red Cross Secretary General, said: “Hospitals are full, and patients are being turned away in Port Moresby and provincial areas. Urgent efforts and further support are needed in healthcare to prevent a massive loss of life in the coming days and weeks. “In all areas of PNG, we are deeply concerned that the risks of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 are skyrocketing due to limited health infrastructure, high rates of illness, all compounded by poor access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation facilities.” The vaccine rollout, that has helped to contain the virus in other countries, remains extremely low in Papua New Guinea due to a range of issues, including misinformation, public apprehension, and logistical challenges with the rollout. Only 1.5 per cent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 0.67 per cent fully vaccinated, according to Oxford University’s Our World in Data. PNG Red Cross is supporting efforts by the government and health authorities to contain the spread of the virus, distributing personal protective equipment such as face masks and providing targeted support to some of most vulnerable in the community who have been confined to their homes by the virus. John Fleming, IFRC’s Asia Pacific Head of Health, said: “If this COVID surge continues at such an alarming speed, PNG’s fragile health system is at risk of collapse. It is vital that emergency healthcare services are increased to prevent greater suffering and loss of life. “We need to respond to the pandemic of misinformation that is spreading alongside the virus. We need to urgently inform people about the benefits of the vaccine, while speeding up the challenging rollout of vaccinations in all areas of PNG, from the highlands to coastal villages.” For more information, contact: In Kuala Lumpur: Antony Balmain, +60 12 230 8451, [email protected] In Melbourne: Joe Cropp, +61 481 150 973, [email protected] In Hobart: Courtney Wilson, +61 481 150 973, [email protected] About IFRC IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian network, comprising 192 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies working to save lives and promote dignity around the world. www.ifrc.org - Facebook - Twitter - YouTube

Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society