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First Fiji Albinism Awareness Symposium

Minister for health and medical services Mr Jone Usamate with Margot Whitfeld (second from left) and other participants at the symposium.

The Hon. Minister for Health & MedicalServices Mr Jone Usamate officially opened the first Fiji Albinism Awareness Symposium at the Holiday Inn in Suva.

This 2 day seminar was about promoting albinism awareness and education, and will enable more people to learn about the health components of albinism. It will also enable relevant authorities to support people with albinism so that they can lead full and supported lives.

Albinism is a rare genetic disorder that causes the skin, hair, or eyes to have little or no colour. People with albinism are at risk of developing skin cancer and have low vision problems.

One of the objectives of this program is to establish qualitative data on the numbers of people with albinism in Fiji, to identify the exact numbers and the demographic distribution of this condition. This will help the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Education to direct the correct resources to meet the needs of the people with albinism. Much needed awareness will also be raised particularly around skin, health and low vision support.

“Inclusion of all people is one of the basic philosophies of the Fiji Government and this symposium was planned by the Fiji Albinism Project steering committee based at Mataika House”, said Mr Usamate.

The group discussions on the second day of the symposium will enable participants to come up with new ideas from a multi-sectorial point of view, with ways to support people with albinism, for review and analysis by the Fiji Government.

Mr Usamate added that this will have the potential to dramatically improve the health, education and quality of life of those important members of our community with albinism.

This program is supported The Australian College of Dermatologists, Australian Private Sector Donors, St Vincents Hospital Sydney and the Pulse Programme GSK

 Health: Rheumatic Heart Disease is preventable  

The Hon. Minister for Health & Medical Services Mr Jone Usamate said that while recent research has shown that Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) is a common cause of death in the pacific, it is preventable through early diagnosis and targeted interventions.

This was revealed today at the launch of the next phase of the RHD Prevention and Control Programme at Novotel, Lami.

“Rheumatic Heart Disease is a common heart condition in Fiji. RHD causes significant morbidity, disability and mortality through childhood and into early adulthood. Recent research has shown that RHD is the most common cause of death for men aged in their 30-40s in Fiji, with death rates also high for teenagers”, said Mr Usamate.

Rheumatic Heart Diseases is caused by streptococcal throat infection which leads to rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever is an illness commonly seen in children and young adults in Fiji that can lead to heart valve damage.

The Ministry of Health & Medical Services has recently formalized its relationship with Cure Kids New Zealand as partners and co-founders on the next phase of the $5m RHD Control and Prevention Programme for Fiji.

Some of the key elements of the project to be undertaken over the next three years include training of health workers to identify and manage sore throats and skin infections, identify and manage ARF and RHD cases, capture key RHD data, integration with existing health information systems, and cost-effective low-tech interventions such as strengthening primary care treatment of sore throat and skin sores.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Partnerships for International Development Fund is a major contributor to the Programme along with the technical support provided the by international RHD experts from the Centre for International Child Health at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Australia and the Auckland District Health Board, New Zealand.

MINISTER IMPRESSED WITH TISI SANGAM NURSING SCHOOL

The Minister for Health and Medical Services Hon. Jone Usamate today visited the TISI Sangam School of Nursing and acknowledged the partnership between the school and government in terms of educating more nurses for the country.

“I am impressed with the midwifery models and the capabilities of this school to cater for more nurses for our country,” Minister Usamate said.

Minister Usamate said the institution’s midwifery models allowed students to understand working with real life situations.

“It is very good, the school intends to raise the competency of these student nurses as they are experimenting on models.”

The Health Minister also acknowledged the school for investing in the training of nurses.

“The organisation’s investment will have a positive impact on the people, and when the students graduate they are already well versed with their profession.”

Mr Usamate said he looked forward to more partnership with the school in producing more and better nurses for Fiji.

Mr Usamate added that in the next five years the Ministry will work on increasing the number of nurses in Fiji.

“But with this we must have quality staff who know what their work is and are passionate about the work they do,” Usamate added.

Savusavu hospital receives Rotary assistance

Minister for Health and Medical Services Mr Jone Usamate and other health officials tour the Savusavu hospital

The Savusavu Hospital was boosted with a $70,000 refurbishment to the infrastructure, particularly to the children’s ward and the adjacent wards and lounge by the Rotary club of Savusavu, supported by various Rotary clubs from North America.

The areas of work included an extended recreation centre on the children’s ward, retiling the critical wards, installation of air-conditioners, painting and mounting solar water heaters.

In addition to this the rotary club also provided a safe water station which will be used to purify drinking water.

The Minister For Health and Medical Services Mr Jone Usamate conveyed his gratitude to the Rotary club for taking this bold step in working in partnership with the Ministry to strengthen the health care services.

“On behalf of the government and the all those that use the health facility, I thank you for your donation to the people of Cakaudrove by enhancing the facilities in Savusavu hospital. I acknowledge your hard work in sourcing funds from your various branches to complete the refurbishments”, said Mr Usamate.

The Savusavu hospital have previously been the beneficiary of a number of projects undertaken by the Rotary club and through this partnership will be rewarded further in the future.

Mr Usamate addressed the Savusavu Health staff on good leadership, and ways to inculcate this in their subordinate staff.

“You must accept the vision and the mission of the Ministry as your own vision and mission, so that you become part of the Ministry and in this way you will definitely improve on your performance.”

Mr Usamate will continue touring the Northern health facilities last week.

 Strengthening Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Asia and the Pacific

The Honourable Minister for Health and Medical Services Mr. Jone Usamate (front row 4th from left) and Director Health Information Research and Analysis Mr. Shivnay Naidu (second row 5th from left) attended the first meeting of the regional (Asia and Pacific) steering group in Bangkok, Thailand last week. Mr. Usamate was elected as the chair of the regional steering group with Bangladesh and Philippines as vice–chairs from 29 countries represented at the meeting. The Ministerial declaration to “Get Every One in the Picture” in November 2014 led to the declaration of Asian and Pacific Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade, 2015-2024 and formulation of the Regional Action Framework (RAF) on CRVS in Asia and the Pacific. The first meeting decided on approaches and modalities for providing regional support to the implementation of the RAF, reviewed the draft guidelines for implementation of the RAF and discussed the development of further tools and research to support the improvement of CRVS and developed the programme of work for the Regional Steering Group for the period 2015–2019.

Newly appointed chair of the Regional Steering Group, Honourable Mr. Jone Usamate, Minister for Health and Medical Services, Fiji, acknowledged the importance of regional knowledge-sharing to advance CRVS systems: “Knowledge exchange and sharing lessons learnt is an integral part of strengthening CRVS in countries,” he said. “Strong political support, innovative ideas and integrating existing information systems lead to developing country-led doable action items through collaborative development partners’ assistance.” Fiji with its National CRVS committee comprising of members from Registrar General’s Office, Fiji Bureau of Statistics, Government ITC services and the Ministry Health & Medical Services continues to work together in close partnership to accelerate its efforts to strengthen CRVS systems in Fiji to ensure every Fijian is registered.