The Susu Mamas clinic in Papua New Guinea, which has been providing care since 1958 under Australian colonial rule. Now, its biggest challenge is serving an increasing amount of patients daily. Dr. Glen Mola, a central figure in the clinic’s founding, has more good news to report. The facility is large enough to handle up to 10,000 women annually! The reality is that the clinic has been inundated, now seeing well over 1,000 patients each day. Tragically, the opposite seems to have been the case over the Easter long weekend. Following unnecessary deaths of two mothers and their babies, immediate intervention is an urgent need.
In 2024, nearly one in four women delivering in the hospital experienced barriers to care. They ended up being treated in the corridor as the delivery room was completely occupied. Fortunately, soon after the crisis began, Prime Minister James Marape expressed his intent to tackle this crisis. He was able to meet with Health Minister Elias Kapavore recently to address the clinic’s urgent concerns. He promised $150 million to improve the quality of life in the city.
Conditions at the Susu Mamas Clinic
Dr. Mola paints a grim picture of the Susu Mamas clinic today. The beautiful wooden building is now awash with major maintenance problems. Burned out lights and clogged up sinks are common issues. Every day, patients and staff experience the damaging effects caused by lack of state-of-the-art facilities.
“The walls are broken. The toilets are not working well. Some of the sinks are blocked. Lights are not working, taps don’t work,” – Dr. Glen Mola.
Additionally, Dr. Mola calls attention to fundamental hygiene issues that make the provision of care even more challenging. For example, he notes that the soap dispensers are always empty. So without paper towels, I have my staff and patients drying their hands on their pants.
“There’s no soap in the soap dispensers, no paper towels, so we dry our hands on our trousers. We need to do better.” – Dr. Glen Mola.
These subpar conditions create significant ethical burdens for health care practitioners. For Dr. Mola, not admitting a patient to a real bed is a shabby and disrespectful thing to do. It hammers their basic humanity.
“Not being able to provide a bed for medical care is not just challenging from an ethical, social point. It’s undignified, it’s almost against rights,” – Dr. Glen Mola.
Government Response and Future Plans
In light of this chronic crisis, Dr. Mola decided to do something about it. After meeting with doctors and officials at the Japanese embassy, he outlined a detailed plan to renovate the maternity ward. Unfortunately, hospital management opposed this plan. They opposed it because they felt it didn’t match their vision of what development should look like in the future.
In 2022, the Japanese central government agreed to appropriate an additional $37 million to make improvements to the Susu Mama wing. This funding allowed for the addition of new beds and for specialized facilities. However, these improvements have yet to materialize. Dr. Mola argues that an alternative proposal for a new eight-storey maternity wing at a different site is impractical given the current demand.
“The CEO looked at our plan and saw that it was going to be on this site and not on the site that he wants … so he can use this site for the hotel and shopping precinct,” – Dr. Glen Mola.
Dr. Mola remains adamant that if conditions were as planned, the clinic would be in a much better state today.
Community and Expert Perspectives
The local community is deeply invested in the work being done at Susu Mamas clinic and is very aware of the challenges the clinic faces. Powes Parkop, a city leader, points out that with growing infrastructure and land availability, the area could ideally support primary maternity and child health services for its rapidly expanding population.
“With more available land and growing infrastructure, it is ideally positioned to handle primary maternity and child health services for the city’s rapidly growing population,” – Powes Parkop.
The critical condition has forced many women to speak up about the basic sanitary essentials and comfort that every woman should have while giving birth. Christina Paulus, a patient who faced these challenges herself and lived to tell the tale, remembers how nervous she was while in labor.
“The wounds are there. So when I’m sitting on the floor, it’s uncomfortable,” – Christina Paulus.
As Dr. Mola emphasizes, birthing women need an environment that allows calmness and assurance for the act of giving birth.
“Birthing women require quietness, calmness, an ambience that makes them confident and feel as though everything’s OK and they’re being looked after,” – Dr. Glen Mola.
