En bref : Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée

Histoires vécues

A 'home fit for children': Empowering families for the best start in life

© UNICEF Papua New Guinea/2004

A Papuan child. Every child needs the best possible start in life.

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PARI VILLAGE, Papua New Guinea, 18 October 2004 - Konio Nao, 18, was attending grade 10 at school when she became pregnant. The boy who fathered her child was also a student. Konio says he did not want to have anything to do with the child. Although initially she did not want anyone, including her own family, to know about her pregnancy, Konio plucked up the courage to attend prenatal consultations - six months into her pregnancy.

Baby Pelina was born weighing only 1.6 kilograms. As a severely underweight infant, she would be vulnerable to a wide range of illnesses and would require constant supervision.

Each year, about 13,000 children die before their fifth birthday in Papua New Guinea. That is about 35 deaths a day. Some 8,000 of them do not live to see their first birthday. Among the many causes of death are low birth weight, malaria, malnutrition, diarrhoea, pneumonia and measles. The HIV/AIDS pandemic, which is estimated to be affecting one to three per cent of the adult population - is threatening to make the situation worse in the future.

Immunization coverage is low here. During 2003, over 1,000 children died of measles alone. Konio admits that she did not know enough to have one-year-old Pelina vaccinated promptly. However, Konio has received support and counsel, and today Pelina has been fully immunized. Looking plump and healthy, she is often seen swinging in a traditional hammock at the family's timber home built on stilts over the sea.

© UNICEF Papua New Guinea/2004

Two children in Papua New Guinea play a game with shells.

Weaning is another problem area. The right types of food are not given to babies. "We are now encouraging backyard gardens where people in urban areas can at least grow greens and pumpkins. Mashed pumpkin is very nutritious for babies while they are being weaned," adds Addo.

Konio learned about child care through a programme called 'Home Fit for Children', developed by the Department of Planning and Rural Development of Papua New Guinea, with UNICEF support.  The aim of the scheme is to "make all homes fit for children to live and grow in by empowering families to promote healthy living," explains Dr. Ebun Ekunwe, UNICEF's Programme Officer for Health and Nutrition.

After several tests and trials, UNICEF and its partners worked together with the community, identifying key behaviour practices needed to provide the best start in life for children. The goal is to disseminate this knowledge widely among families in the country so that parents can themselves act on it. Some of the elements of this programme include encouraging expectant mothers to visit antenatal clinics and educating them on the benefits of delivering their babies in qualified health facilities.

"We now know that when Pelina is old enough, she must go to school and learn to interact with other children," says Konio's mother, Geua Nao, who attended the 'Home Fit for Children' programme with Konio.

"I want to look after my child well," a confident Konio says, while rocking Pelina in the family hammock. "I want to get a job and maybe continue my studies again."