Infant mortality rate, under five mortality rate, and maternal mortality rate are quite high in the banteng Province. To improve the health situation, PHJ is implementing community health care and nutrition improvement projects together with the provincial health department, provincial hospitals, health centers, and village clinics. The objectives of these projects are to improve maternal and child health with the improved health and medical services and environments, health education, nutrition improvement education. In short, PHJ is building a primary health care system and nutrition education support model.
Activities
Maternal and Child Health Improvement Education
This education aims at improving health of women, expected mothers, infants and children so that they can enjoy healthy lives with hope. The leader of the project is a midwife of village health center. The midwife receives basic education course to become an effective leader of village education, refresh training of midwife skills and knowledge, and special course on maternal and child health at a national training institute. Following such training, the midwife organizes monthly education programs on health and nutrition to villagers (women, expected mothers, and men) including health volunteers.
Enpowerment of Medical Staff and Equipment
At the start of the project, there were some villages where a midwife was not resident. PHJ requested the autonomous district administration to increase the number of midwives. As a result, the number of midwives increased and delivery cases attended by midwife increased. Normally a midwife is stationed at a district or village health center. PHJ is supporting construction of health clinics in Tirtayasa Autonomous District where villagers are motivated to improve their health improvement. As of 2012, five out of 14 villages have a village health clinic. The health clinic requires clean water. In the areas without electricity and drinking water supply system, PHJ constructed wells operated by solar energy. In 2010, PHJ constructed a delivery clinic with solar energy lighting system at Wargasa Village (population 1,800) on Twnda Island. 40km from the mainland.
Community Health Network Seminar
An effective community network at village and district level is necessary to improve maternal and child health. PHJ is building such network with a village clinic mdiwife as a leader and cooperates with health volunteers, autonomous district health center, provincial medical facilities. To expand the network to not only health and medical institutions but also administrative and religious leaders, PHJ organized a seminar to study importance of community health, particularly, maternal and child health.
Mutual Cooperation
PHJ introduced a blood donor registration system to secure required blood at delivery and a childbirth saving system for expected mothers and families.