Papua New Guinea: Providing Reproductive Health Care in a Highly Stigmatized Environment

Note: We recorded this episode prior to the leaked document showing the Supreme Courts intent to overturn the right to abortion. While unfortunately we don’t talk about it in the episode we will be recording an emergency episode soon to talk about what happened.  Women and girls in the Pacific region face a variety of barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare. Geographic isolation, lack of bodily autonomy, and some of the world’s highest rates of sexual and gender-based violence contribute to high maternal mortality, low contraceptive prevalence and pervasive gender inequality. Myths and misconceptions around sex, reproduction and gender norms are rife, creating stigma and further impacting access to SRHR services. Kelly Durrant, External Relations Director at MSI Asia Pacific, speaks to us about addressing some of these challenges.  Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the largest country in the pacific and the third largest island nation globally, home to approximately 9 million people—85% of which live in rural locations. Even before the pandemic, the country battled high rates of tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria, maternal and child mortality, and inadequate primary healthcare in rural areas. MSI Asia Pacific has worked in Papua New Guinea since 2006, and is the largest – and in many provinces, the only – SRHR provider in the country. Teams of MSI-trained healthcare workers, community mobilizers and educators travel by plane, boat, or jeep to reach remote communities that are often inaccessible by road. In many cases, these outreach visits are the only way that these communities can access high-quality information, counselling and services to meet their sexual and reproductive healthcare needs and chose if and when to have children. Limited exposure to sexual and reproductive health education in tandem with social expectations related to the role of women in society means providers in the country must work to bust myths and address stigma related to contraception. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated poor health outcomes. The country also has some of the worst rates of gender-based violence globally, with some statistics estimating that 2 out of 3 women in PNG have experienced gender-based violence, rates of which have been worsened by the pandemic. MSI Asia Pacific works at a government level, community level, and individual level, to advocate for policy change, increase education, confront bias, and better deliver care. Involving faith leaders and men and boys in sexual and reproductive health education (balanced carefully with women and girl’s autonomy to make their own reproductive decisions) de-stigmatizes services.  LinksMSI Asia Pacific MSI Asia Pacific on TwitterMSI Asia Pacific on FacebookMSI Asia Pacific on InstagramMSI Asia Pacific DonationsFor more information, check out When Science Finds a Way: https://wellcome.org/insights/podcastSupport the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.socialBuy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: [email protected] and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!