Australia's $3 million Sexual and Reproductive Health Program in Crisis and Post-Crisis Situations (SPRINT) has sent its first trainees to Burma to assist in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.
The two Burmese nationals, employed by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), finished their training in Kuala Lumpur on 2 May as Burma was feeling the force of Cyclone Nargis.
The pair has been providing much-needed crisis relief - organising the delivery of supplies and raising the issue of women's needs with health representatives on the ground.
On a visit to the affected region they briefed doctors, coordinators, field workers and volunteers from 16 agencies involved in the Cyclone Nargis emergency response.
The Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan, launched the SPRINT program in February this year.
It targets East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific and is part of the Australian Government's commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The program focuses on women and the risks to sexual and reproductive health that commonly results from disasters and conflicts.
Research has shown that pregnancy and childbirth-related complications are common causes of death and disability among women in situations of forced displacement.
Globally more than 500,000 women die each year as a result of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. High maternal mortality and child mortality persist in our region.
Australia is providing targeted programs for women's and children's health as part of its commitment to achieving MDG targets 4) Reduce child mortality and 5) Improve maternal health by 2015.
In the past decade, countries in the Asia-Pacific region have faced an increasing number of crises through natural disasters, climatic variation, political instability or civil unrest.
The Australian Government is working in partnership with the International Planned Parenthood Federation for the East, Southeast Asia and Oceania region, the University of New South Wales, the UN Population Fund and the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance on the SPRINT initiative.