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MINISTER PAYS TRIBUTE TO 21 YEARS OF SERVICE

Last Thursday, the Minister for Health and Medical Services Hon. Jone Usamate paid tribute to Empower Pacific on its 21^st anniversary for the counselling and support services it has provided Fijians since its inception.

Speaking at the celebrations in Lautoka, Minister Usamate said the partnership between the Ministry and Empower Pacific has seen many Fijians benefit from its services.

“Empower Pacific has played and will continue to play an important role in our health system and perhaps the greatest interest is the ability of Empower Pacific to provide counsellors with specialist STI and HIV certification,” he said.

“This service has been the backbone of our antenatal HIV testing and counselling programme and last year reached over 13, 000 pregnant women across Fiji.”

He also paid tribute to the founder and volunteers of the non-governmental organisation, saying their services have been invaluable to the work carried out around the country.

Hon. Usamate called on closer collaboration between Empower Pacific and the Ministry of Health to further strengthen their work.

“Empower Pacific has and will continue to play a critical role in the ministry’s mental health programme and even today it is evident in almost daily referrals of patients for crisis counselling from our mental health units and health facilities,” Hon. Usamate said.

“I thank Empower Pacific for maintaining high standards of training and qualifications and am pleased that they are able to serve the clients and patients in our health outlets.”

Pharmaceutical Society Annual Conference commended as timely

The Hon. Assistant Minister for Health & Medical Services Mrs Veena Bhatnagar has commended the Fiji Pharmaceutical Society at its Annual Conference for convening at a time where there is a need for improvements in service delivery.

“The demand for pharmaceutical supplies continues to accelerate and the role of pharmacists and their associated cadres continue to expand therefore the team will need to deliberate and develop new strategies to enable professionals to meet the growing demands of improving the quality, accessibility and affordability of pharmaceutical products”, said Mrs Bhatnagar.

This annual conference was held at the Fijian Resort in Sigatoka over the weekend with the theme “Sharing knowledge – improving care”.

Mrs Bhatnagar added that the Health Ministry has made significant plans in its 5 year National Strategic Plan 2016-2020 that encompass the general improvement of the Ministry’s performance in the area of service delivery, inclusive of the pharmacy and bio medical sector.

The plan has ensured proper alignment to government priorities for the health sector and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which has set some significant targets for the pharmaceutical sector.

“The Health Ministry in its 5 year National Strategic Plan, sets the strategic approach on Medicinal Products which brings on the strong emphasis on high quality medicinal products being rationally used and readily available to all residents”, Mrs Bhatnagar added.

KAILA: Pacific Voice for Action on Agenda 2030

Pacific Island Ministers gathered in Nadi last week to deliberate on strengthening climate change resilience through reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) before upcoming COP21 climate change talks in Paris.

The impact of climate change on health systems has been taken on as a challenge for Ministers from Pacific Island Countries and they have issued a Kaila for strengthening climate resilience.

It has been recognized that the real and potential impacts of climate variability on health systems is an immediate challenge in the Pacific. Kaila is a collective voice of Pacific Island Countries to ensure that the Pacific Voice is heard in global conversations.

Following consultations with technical experts and stakeholders, the Pacific Island Ministers have called for action on:

• The imperative of gender equality and women’s empowerment as a priority of national health plans and programmes in the context of climate change.
• Robust gender analysis, concrete steps for gender mainstreaming and evidence-based monitoring of RMNCAH.
• Strengthening participation of women, children and adolescents in the formulation and implementation of the RMNCAH components of National and Regional Adaptation Plans.
• Strengthening strategic focus on RMNCAH as an instrument for enhancing the contribution of women, children and adolescents to effective climate change adaptation.

The Pacific Island Ministers have also committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to help secure the future for Pacific Island people, planet, peace and prosperity.

The meeting outcome also saw the importance of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescent Health (2016-2030) that reflects a new consensus on the need to better prioritize reproductive, maternal, newborn, children and adolescent health in humanitarian or fragile settings such as natural hazards, extreme climatic conditions or disease outbreak that impact Pacific Island Countries.

The 3 day meeting was hosted by the Fiji Ministry for Health and Medical Services, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The Minister for Health and Medical Services Mr Jone Usamate launched the Color Explosion Fiji 2016 “Rang De Viti” meaning “Let’s Color Fiji” program at the Waterfront Hotel in Lautoka last week.

This event, now in its second year, is ideally developed to encourage people to engage in physical activities and enjoy a healthy life, moving away from the deadly effects andt burdens of NCDs.

The actual Rand De VGiti will be held on the 30^th of January in Lautoka and it is anticipated that there will be an influx of participants compared to last year.

Participants at the program will walk 5.7 km wearing a white t-shirt and as they pass a colour pit stop, they will be showered with color powder, finishing in a rainbow of hues.

The organising president of the color explosion Dr Ram Raju said that the committee intends to raise fund through the program which will eventually be directed to the wellness outreach program, and has welcomed the support of people around Fiji. “We want to create and capture an opportunity for the people of Fiji to visit Lautoka as often people in Lautoka move to other areas such Nadi or Suva to attend events”, said Mr Raju.

Minister Usamate applauded the initiative of the Color Explosion and has welcomed their continued partnership with the Health Ministry for future projects.

Ministers from the Pacific with Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah Zeid (center), Ms Lubna Baqi UNFPA Deputy Director, and Hon. Dr Jiko Luveni, Speaker of the House of Representative Parliament of Fiji.