The Ministry of Health and Medical Services celebrated the Fiji Public Health initiatives and milestones during its mid-year meeting at the Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort and Spa, Yanuca Island last Thursday.

Assistant Minister for Health and Medical Services Veena Bhatnagar said: “There is a need for a loud applause for those who contributed to this success.”

She said like other Pacific Islands, Fiji faced the health challenges of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and communicable diseases.

She said they needed to be brought under control.

“Fiji continues to acknowledge these partnerships because it creates evident to inform strategic interventions to Fiji’s NCD crisis,” Ms Bhatnagar said.

The event saw the launch of six initiatives including NCD Rick Factors STEPS Survey 2011, Global School-based Health Survey 2010, NCD Strategic Plan 2015-2019, Community-Directly Observed Treatment (CDOT) and the global second placed Khana Kakana, a cook book.

Khana Kakana, launched last November by the ministry, is a guide to eating simple, healthy and affordable recipes that uses Fijian grown and seasonal produce.

The book competed against the best cook books in the world from 205 countries and Fiji was among the 92 countries shortlisted.

“These are efforts that only improving the health of Fijians and building pride in our foods, but also changing the agricultural and tourism sectors as demand for Fijian grown produce increases,” Ms Bhatnagar said.

Australian Aid Programme, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) programme manager – Bilateral Health/Social Protection Margaret Vuiyasawa said, “The Australian government has a strong commitment to investing resources in the fight against NCDs.”

“We all know the statistics – the increasing number of people with diabetes and hypertension and at the increasing younger age, the alarming number of below the knee amputations per year.”

Ms Vuiyasawa said through bilateral and regional programmes, the Australian Aid Programme had committed resources across both public health and clinical services.

World Health Organisation (WHO) representative for South Pacific Dr Yunguo Liu said: “WHO stands ready to support your efforts to address current and future health challenges, and to achieve your national targets.”

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