Health Minister Acknowledges Work By Frontliners During Pandemic
Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete took time to thank all, who have been involved in the fight against COVID-19, in Parliament yesterday.
He also reminded the house that while dealing with the COVID-19 global pandemic, he was mindful that it needed to tackle other disease outbreaks that may occur.
“While reported measles cases have fallen compared to previous years, progress toward measles elimination continues to decline and the risk of outbreaks is mounting, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC,” he said.
“There are currently two confirmed cases of measles identified in a village in Serua/Namosi last week.”
Dr Waqainabete said water, sanitation and hygiene were important aspects to human development and progress across the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Likewise, Fiji values the importance of sanitation in its development priorities and included the Right to Sanitation in Bill of Rights No. 35 of the 2013 Constitution,” he said.
“When people have better access to sanitation and water, they are healthy and of course they can also work more productively, live more fully and most importantly contribute more to society.”
Dr Waqainabete said since 2014, diarrhoea disease has been among the top five causes of morbidity in Fiji.
He said poor sanitation contributed to the spread of deadly diseases in communities, with typhoid fever and diarrhoea being the most common in Fiji.
“Typhoid fever, a disease closely related to poor sanitation, continues to be a health burden in Fiji, especially in the Nadroga / Navosa Province over the past few years,” he said.
“Last year the province had a total of 40 typhoid cases.”
He said Fiji had come leaps and bounds in the fight against the COVID-19 and keeping up to par with tackling other diseases and outbreaks that may arise.
“I urge Fijians not to be too complacent and ensure they continue to adhere to the strict COVID-19 protocols,” he said.
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