A room at St Mary’s Hospital, Kokopo in Papua New Guinea is being transformed into a functional laboratory to support Burnet’s Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (HMHB) research studies.

While some basic equipment has arrived from Melbourne, more than AUD$80,000 is still required to fully fit the laboratory, which will analyse samples taken from women pre and post delivery, and from their newborn babies.

Local HMHB Team Leader, Pele Melepia said the laboratory will help change lives.

“This is going to be the first laboratory in East New Britain that has the capability of doing a range of tests. We need to be testing mothers for STIs because these are the main contributing factors to low birth weights, which we know often leads to poor outcomes for babies,” she said.

“The laboratory is going to be a huge bonus because mothers will be tested and they’ll be treated together with their partners. This will help save the baby and help the mother as well.”

Your gift will help support the new laboratory fit out.

Read Pele’s first hand account about why she joined Burnet’s Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies team in the latest edition of IMPACT magazine.

Image: Pele (far left) is overseeing a team of field research officers gathering samples from mums and babies for analysis.