Church health partners play a vital frontline role in delivering both medical care and community leadership in Papua New Guinea (PNG) with the continued support from Australia through trainings and other forms of support.

Just recently, 25 church leaders and health workers participated in a training session in Port Moresby city, intended to strengthen responses to Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Sorcery Accusation Related Violence (SARV), and promoting good governance in community health systems.

At the 9-Mile clinic in Port Moresby, Sr. Maria Runane thanked the Australian Government for the grant support highlighting that “Every one of us, including youths, need to be trained so that we can bring change to our community.”

The training focused on nurturing good governance and anti-corruption practices within faith-based health services. The workshop, delivered by Christian Health Services (CHS) was supported though the Community Justice Fund under the Australia-Papua New Guinea Law and Justice Partnership (APLJ).

Its goal is creating more awareness and prevention practices around prevailing community issues such as GBV and SARV as well as raising the standards of care and support for survivors, and improving referral pathways between health providers, churches, and justice institutions.

CHS Deputy Charmain, Hector Morries, said “The purpose of the training is to strengthen the ability of CHS’s extensive network of churches and health centers across PNG to provide a proactive and integrated approach to addressing GBV and SARV.”

Through the PNG–Aus Partnership, Australia continues to support the church health services to strengthen safe, inclusive communities and improve access to justice and essential services across Papua New Guinea.