Maternal and Neonatal Health Programme

The aim of the Maternal and neonatal health (MNH) program is to provide sustainability in the local health care system. The program works on a ‘Train the Trainer’ model. Our skilled clinicians conduct hands on, evidence based ‘skills transfer’ to local health staff with identified leadership capabilities. The basics of clinical teaching are provided to those staff for them to share new evidence based skills through teaching to further develop their colleagues skills. This provides sustainability making health staff better able to handle obstetric emergencies.

Importantly most teaching is done in ‘real time’ through an interpreter using interpreting equipment which all participants wear. This saves time and allows for immediate questioning and replies.

The FOHG team has been operating on the island of Flores, Indonesia since 2008, initially gaining support from AusAID to work in the southern coast of Ende. The popularity of the program, prompted invitations by the NTT health Department to work in remote Nagakeo on the northern coast of the island.

A map of Eastern Indonesia which shows Flores in relation to Kupang work.

We also an Ultrasound (US)program to prevent the deaths of mothers and babies. (See MNH page on the Ultra Sound program).

Ibu Since who travelled to UniSA in Adelaide to gain US skills demonstrating to her colleagues.

The SoE Project

More recently we have extended our work to SoE, north of the capital Kupang in West Timor. Here we have a presence in a newly build small hospital, Muder Ignancia, and the Peter Scott Education Centre. The latter has been named after a much loved colleague who passed away in 2022.

‘Sustainability through Education’.

Over the last years FOHG has supported the Professional development of local midwives to gain further education. We are delighted to report that Ibu Nestri, a young midwife from Nagakeo graduated with a Diploma IV which allows her to teach midwifery. She is now one of the highest qualified midwives in the newly opened Hospital in Nagakeo.

Ibu Nestri at her graduation, accompanied by her husband.

Ibu Onda, the head Midwife in Nagakeo, was supported by FOHG to gain her Masters Degree and gained Valedictorian of the midwifery school in her year.