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DR. JIKO LUVENI INTERIM MINISTER FOR HEALTH, WOMEN AND SOCIAL WELFARE OPENING SPEECH AT THE 14TH BIENNIAL SOUTH PACIFIC NURSES FORUM MEETING Tradewinds Convention Center Monday 06th October 2008 LAMI The President of the Fiji Nursing Association, Mrs. Salanieta Matiavi; The 2nd Vice President of the International Council of Nurses, Ms Rosemary Bryant The Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Nurses Federation, Ms Jill Iliffe Honoured Guests; Representatives of the Nurses Associations of our South Pacific community of nations; Ladies and Gentlemen. Ni sa bula vinaka! On behalf of the Government and the people of Fiji, I warmly welcome you all to our shores and it is indeed an honour for me to be here this morning to open the 14th Biennial South Pacific Nurses Forum meeting. It gives me great pleasure to be able to share some thoughts with you this morning and to be part of this wonderful occasion. I would like to express my personal congratulations to all nursing associations from our island nations that make up the South Pacific Nurses Forum for your achievements over the years. At the outset, I would like to take this opportunity to warmly congratulate the Key Note Speaker, Ms Rosemary Bryant for her recent appointment as Australia’s first ever Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer. Congratulations and best wishes on your new appointment madam. The South Pacific Nurses Forum, which was formed some 26 years ago in 1982, has met every two years in different locations, the last one being in Samoa in 2006. The first Forum meeting of 1982 was held here in Fiji and again in 1996 and it is indeed an honour and a joy for our country, in particular the Fiji Nursing Association and nurses to host the meeting in Suva this year. I understand that your objective as South Pacific Nurses is to unite, to foster professional growth and development in the spirit of collegiality. The Forum provides opportunity for your National Nursing Associations to share information. This is a very worthwhile objective indeed because sharing of experiences and professional knowledge are so vital now in a world which is increasingly inter-dependent. We in the smaller South Pacific Islands need not only to learn from each other but also to keep up with advanced experiences and knowledge from overseas, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, our closest metropolitan neighbors. The Forum is a wonderful opportunity for you South Pacific nurses including your colleagues from Australia and New Zealand to meet; to share your interests, achievements and concerns; to develop support networks; to update your clinical knowledge; and to make recommendations for united action over the next two years. I therefore urge you all to maximize this wonderful opportunity. Our Ministry of Health and I am sure those of other Pacific Island countries represented here, will benefit greatly from the resolutions of this Forum. What will also be of great value are the information and knowledge that you, the participants, will take back to share with your colleagues in your home countries. I am informed that in their meeting in Samoa in 2006, the South Pacific Chief Nursing Officers Alliance highlighted the issue of variation of standards of initial nursing education and midwifery education across the Pacific region, which impedes both standardization of quality of care and the possibility of employment opportunities across the region. I am also informed that the Project on enhancing and standardizing nursing training programs across the region is progressing well with the assistance and support of the World Health Organisation. Nursing is a noble profession. Nurses as professionals and as parents, have made important, but usually unrecognized contributions in our public health services, especially at the grassroots level. This has arisen naturally from your greater concern and sensitivity to the health of our children. You are also concerned with the needs of the older generations to live in dignity in communities that are healthy, well integrated and clean. Even though there is a need for better facilities and modern technology for diagnosis in our South Pacific Island hospitals, you as nurses also know that most of the diseases contracted by our people have to do with unhealthy life-styles. It means that we can significantly reduce the cost of our health care system if our people lead healthy life-styles. It is commendable that our nurses and doctors are becoming increasingly aware of the need for research that will contribute to better knowledge of life-style changes amongst our people. This will no doubt contribute to better quality and effective advice from our health professionals. Nurses should become part of the management of our health care systems, and contribute to the development of policies and directions. Your Nurses Association’s relationships with Managers and policy makers in our health services need to be one of on going consultation and co-operation. The nursing profession is still very largely a women’s occupation but I believe that you can and should provide the leadership in our programmes to promote better health for our people. Some recent developments in our Health Ministry in Fiji include the launch of the Human Papilovirus immunization program for our 9 to 12 year old girls in our effort towards the prevention against cervical cancer, which is killing an increasing number of our women and mothers. A total of 32,000 young girls are targeted in this aggressive immunization program. The other campaign launched last week, known as the “Bula 5:30”, is for the fight against Non-communicable diseases, which is now a number one killer in Fiji and most of our small island countries. 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day and 30 minutes walk or exercise a day should help you to stay healthy. I thank the nurses, doctors and other health care professionals for your hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice. You have kept our public health system operating to a standard that is admirable. You have achieved wonders, despite the lack of resources and financial constraints we are all facing. To conclude, I take this opportunity to wish all participants a rewarding experience that will benefit you and all of us in the South Pacific nations. I also wish our visitors an enjoyable stay in Suva. I now have great pleasure in opening the 14th Biennial South Pacific Nurses Forum and may God bless us all. Vinaka Vakalevu 6th October 2008 |
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