Medical evacuations in January saw a high number of calls for the referral of mothers with labour complications.
Lablab Health Centre on Umboi Island in Tewai-Siassi, Morobe, is the remote health facility with most referral, due to lack of proper equipment and facilities to assist mothers deliver their babies.
Of the two mothers airlifted into Lae, Lency Stanley, 44, (pictured) lost her baby on January 28th, due to the obstructed labor.
From Aromot Village, an isolated island south of Umboi Island, Lency said her arrival in Lae was important, because she now has access to family planning services which are unavailable on the island.