The Assistant Minister for Health Hon. Mrs. Veena Bhatnagar and the President of the Australian Senate Hon. Stephen Parry conjointly launched the Diabetes Foot Care Manual and the Wellness Promotion Manual at the Lami Health Centre today.
The two manuals are designed to help frontline healthcare workers ‘inspect and protect’ feet of diabetic clients and assist primary health care workers communicate more effectively with clients about NCDs respectively.
People in Fiji are amongst the highest in the Pacific to have contracted NCD’s over a short period of time and this initiative from the Health Ministry and the Fiji Health Sector Support Program is designed to help reduce the burden of Non-communicable Diseases.
The Assistant Minister for Health and Medical Services while Launching the Manual said that people have become victims to NCD’s due to their lifestyles and this is an added initiative of the Ministry to combat these diseases.
“Today’s launch of the Foot Care and Wellness Manuals is an added milestone to the Ministry of Health & Medical Services targeted initiatives to prevent and manage NCDs”, said Mrs Bhatnagar.
“These publications will ensure that our forerunners of health service delivery, the nurses, will have improved access to information that will provide them the necessary guidance in advocating wellness and proper foot care”.
The President of the Australian Senate Hon. Stephen Parry said Australia was happy to be involved in reducing the burden of NCD’s in Fiji.
“Iam very impressed on how the Manual will be used in future and it is certainly a great pleasure for Australia to be involved in a very key preventative measure”, said Hon Parry.
Meanwhile these manuals will be sent out to all health facilities around the country and will be used as a guide by the health staff to advise the public on practicing healthy lifestyles and proper foot care for diabetic patients.