Archived News: February 2024

Around 40 participants are being trained in the 16th Whole Nut Processing Training in Juju Village which is being facilitated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways Research Division.

The participants represent all seven districts on the island and have been fully engaged in the hands-on training.

Principal Research Officer Agronomy, Amena Banuve and his support team have been leading the training and have stressed the importance of coconuts and their ability to assist families in earning additional income.

Banuve highlights the value addition of coconuts as it empowers them to make use of the abundance of coconut resources to sustain their livelihoods.

The Principal Research Officer adds this training aims to demonstrate to coconut farmers and stakeholders the diverse range of coconut products that can be derived from different parts of the coconut, including the husk, kernel, shells, and water.

The training covers the production of Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO), soap making, Magimagi (coconut fibre cordage), coconut chips, and coconut handicrafts.

These products offer an alternative revenue stream and have export potential, especially considering the presence of different fruit fly strains on the island.

Currently, into the third week of training, participants learnt more about the importance of soil health, how to take soil samples, learnt the benefits of coconut, and tree crop varieties and their uses.

The training will end this week and it is envisaged that the participants will be able to start their niche markets using the abundant resources around them.

Protecting the Rotuman language remains a challenge for today's generations and there is a need for younger generations to take ownership of speaking or learning it.

He highlights the vulnerability of the language after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization classified the Rotuman language as an endangered language.

He says that though the government has implemented the teaching of the Rotuman language in Fiji's secondary schools, the challenges remain.

"If you look at a class, maybe there are one or two Rotuman students, and there are other students who don't want to learn the language. They will want to learn English to enhance their level of education, but not the Rotuman dialect. So yes, I was involved in those discussions many years ago, but it's a problem too if you have that in the curriculum here, but who is going to learn the Rotuman language? I don't think so; the whole class won't work."

Samisoni states that with the help of the IPA Learning Center which has enabled the teaching of the Rotuman language and culture to its members and somehow merged the gap and worked towards retaining the preservation of the Rotuman language for future generations, there is still improvement to be done.

He adds that everything begins at home and it's about time that Rotuman's parents start speaking it to their children before it's completely gone with the wind of change.

From 2019 to 2023, about 300 cases were referred from Rotuma to the CWM Hospital in Suva for further investigations and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Atonio Lalabalavu.

Opening Rotuma’s new $10.3million subdivisional hospital on Wednesday, Dr Lalabalavu in a statement said in addition to these cases, 44 cases required emergency medical evacuation from Rotuma at a total cost of $880,000 or an average of $176,000 annually.

With the new hospital facility and its improved capability to investigate and treat patients, Dr Lalabalavu said travelling to Viti Levu to access health facilities would be a practice of the past as the new hospital would offer full services.

“In addition, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services has boosted the hospital’s staff establishment from the current 37 to 50,” he said in a statement.

“With new positions such as medical laboratory scientist, ward assistant, dental therapist, health inspector, cleaner, cook, and handyman added to the health facility’s workforce.

“Some of these new positions are now in the hospital while others will be recruited in the weeks ahead.”

Dr Lalabalavu said the new and improved capabilities at the hospital were important and necessary as the ministry was mindful of Rotuma’s geographical position in relation to the rest of Fiji.

He said this would further help hospital staff tackle the growing disease burden of NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension as well as dengue, typhoid, and leptospirosis on the island.

After nine years, the new $10.3million Rotuma Subdivisional Hospital was opened on Wednesday, marking a momentous occasion in the history of health services on Rotuma and Fiji.

A statement from the Ministry of Health states the hospital will serve a population of about 1899 people on Rotuma’s 22 villages.

In his address, Health Minister Dr Atonio Lalabalavu said the new hospital replaced the old Rotuma Rural Hospital at the same site.

Dr Lalabalavu said work on the new hospital started in 2015, however, many factors contributed to the delay in construction, which included the distance from the mainland where the resources and technical expertise were sourced from, and the COVID outbreak in 2020 and 2021.

“Today’s milestone commissioning brings to conclusion the establishment of the newest addition to the family of health facilities under the Ministry of Health and Medical Services,” Dr Lalabalavu said in the statement.

“The old hospital was a wooden structure with many parts deteriorating from the many years of use and decay.

“The hospital had served the people well over the years and was at high risk of catastrophic damage if a severe climatic event struck the island.”

Dr Lalabalavu said the hospital, the only public health facility on the island, boasted a range of services that would be of a higher standard.

“I also anticipate that the new facility will now be in a better position to cater for more regular outreach specialist teams from CWM Hospital and Labasa Hospital.”

The cyclone-proof hospital will include 11 admission beds compared with only four beds in the older hospital, a birthing unit, a new operating theatre, new oxygen concentrator machines, and new patient monitoring equipment.

Dr Lalabalavu thanked the military, in particular, the engineers or the “Mataisau” Regiment and subcontractors for their perseverance in the construction of the hospital.

He urged staff to utilise the resources of the new hospital to deliver the best health service to the people of Rotuma.

The Ministry of Health will now be able to save an average of $176,000 annually following the opening of the new Rotuma Sub-divisional Hospital.

Minister Doctor Atonio Lalabalavu says from 2019 to 2023, 300 cases were referred from Rotuma to the CWM Hospital in Suva for further investigations and treatment.

He says of these, 44 cases required emergency medical evacuation from Rotuma at a total cost of $880,000.

The Health Minister says the new hospital facility with the improved capability to investigate and treat patients is anticipated to reduce this load significantly for the Ministry.

“As the only public health facility on the island, the new hospital will now boast a range of services that will be of higher standard than what existed before. The new cyclone-proof hospital now is now bigger with eleven admission beds compared with only four beds in the older hospital. It now has designated wards for men, women, children, and isolation ward.”

The new hospital, built at a cost of $10.3 million has replaced the old Rotuma Rural Hospital at the same site.

Doctor Lalabalavu says the old hospital had served the people well over the years and was at high risk of catastrophic damage if a severe climatic event struck the island.

He adds there were no backup power generator for 24hours electricity service, and no mortuary services.

A piece of new biomedical equipment has also been purchased and installed at the hospital.

In addition, the Ministry of Health has boosted the hospital’s staff establishment from the current 37 to 50, with new positions such as medical laboratory scientist, ward assistant, dental therapist, health inspector, cleaner, cook, and handyman added to workforce for the new hospital.

Doctor Lalabalavu says some of these new positions are now in the hospital while others will be recruited in the weeks ahead.

The newly built Rotuma Hospital has been officially handed over to the Ministry of Health by the Republic of Fiji Military Forces.

The facility was handed over by Lieutenant Colonel Semi Mocelutu, the Commanding Officer of the Engineers Regiment.

The ceremony was attended by several officials, including Commander Land Force Colonel Onisivoro Covunisaqa, and other senior officials from Rotuma.

After nine long years of construction, the much-anticipated facility will be opened by Minister for Health Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu tomorrow.

The project, which was fast-tracked by the current Government, aims to provide essential health services to the remote island's population of almost 2000 people, benefiting residents in 15 main villages.

This is an important step in improving healthcare and community development in Fiji.