Village Health Volunteers; Bridging the gaps in Health Service disparities

VHV Program was introduced by Safe The Children Health Project in and is implemented using the network of Churches Health Services and Government Health Services in East Sepik Province.

The purpose of introducing this program is to bridge the gap between health facility and the people who are scattered all over the remote parts of ESP. The idea is to ensure local men or women are readily available in the village to attend to basic health care needs of the people. Local men and women are trained before they practice.

Voluntary efforts committed by these men and women have significantly contributed towards achieving universal access to health care by all people.  The turnout of this program considerably helped in many ways. Few notable achievements would be, people do not have to travel long distances to reach the nearest health facility for medical treatment, number of people queuing up at the Out Patient at selected health facility has decreased and workload for staff has reduced greatly.

Furthermore, these VHVs are also trained as Community Based Distributors of Mala 1 (CBDs) under Home Based Management of Malaria (HMM) Program. This greatly extend the campaign of new malaria treatment regime to all people and is easily accessed by all people in the villages.

CCHS has a two Field Monitors who oversee the work of VHVs, CBDs and HMM. At selected health facilities, there are nursing officers who are trained as Supervisors who do routing checks on the program, collect reports, supply medicines and report back to the Field Monitors about the progress of the program.   

Under CCHS ESP along, a total of 13 health facilities implement the program, with more than 800 villages accessing help from VHVs right across six districts of ESP. Altogether there are 742 VHV. 53 have become inactive while 5 died.

The challenge is they are working as volunteers and campaigns have been made for the people, Local Level Government and private individuals to support their work.  

Catholic Church Health Services VHV Field Monitor

A VHV Supervisor with a VHV during supervisory visits

VHVs celebrating VHV Day at Kunjingini Health Sub Center, South Wosera LLG

Samaritan Aviation: 390 lives saved, delivering 100 000 medical supplies, more than 300 hours of flight in 117 emergency flights

Samaritan Aviation operates the only floatplane in Papua New Guinea, serving those living in East Sepik Province through emergency evacuation flights, medicine delivery, disaster relief and community health program.

Mark Palm, Samaritan Aviation Director and pilot visited the area when he was 19 and saw the medical and spiritual of the people. He realized that a floatplane would provide access to those areas.

He returned to United States and to school, eventually earned a commercial pilot certificate with instrument and floatplane rating as well as aircraft mechanic certificate.

In 2000, Samaritan Aviation started as a non-profit Aviation Hospital Ministry and began raising awareness for its mission. Ten years later, he achieved his dream and in 2010 Mark Palm, his wife and three children came to Wewak to begin their flight operations with only one floatplane.

To date, Samaritan Aviation has delivered more than 100, 000 medical supplies and saved 390 lives, 60% of which are babies and mothers by flying more than 300 hours in 117 emergency flights.

A second floatplane has arrived in Wewak from United States and they are assembling it for its maiden flight in a later date. “This will ensure that a plane is always available if the other plane encounter mechanic problem,” said Mark Palm.

Currently 50% of their funding comes from PNG Government the other 50% from private individuals and foundations in USA.

Their team is s

New Pilot Family

Emergency flights along Sepik River Villages

lowly growing in size. In 2014, a new pilot family joined Samaritan Aviation, John and Carrie Smith and their family. John is a pilot as well as an aircraft mechanic. Both will be involved in Samaritan Aviation Hospital Ministry and Community Health Evangelism (CHE) Program. Another family, Forrest and Marlene Williamsons with their two children will depart US for Wewak next September to join the team. Forrest is a pilot as well while his wife is a nurse.

Emergency flight delivering a patient at Boram Airport, Wewak