Expanding counseling and health services for families in rural communities

With support from the Australian Government, through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program, and the New Zealand Government, through the Sustainable Development Fund, World Vision has achieved considerable gains in improving the health and well-being of mothers and children in the rural communities of Madang and Morobe Provinces in Papua New Guinea. World Vision's Timed and Targetted Counseling (ttC), a core community health worker/volunteer approach, has helped extend primary health care counseling at the household level, helping families adapt ideal health seeking behaviors that sustainably protect their health. World Vision also focuses on advocacy for health systems strengthening in collaboration with national, provincial, and district authorities, including health facilities to ensure that quality Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition services are available to meet families' needs. In 2017, an estimated 8,000 people from around 30 communities in Morobe and Madang have benefitted from World Vision's MNCHN Project through better access to counseling and health services in health facilities. The Projects also receive support from the Dove Charitable Trust (Madang).