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Fiji

Health and Well-being In Fiji

Our Fiji Health Program assists the local District Nurse.  The role of the nurse is to address health issues in the District of Dawasamu. This is under the Ministry of Health’s annual objectives.

Role of the Community Health Worker

A Community Health Worker (CHW) is a liaison between the village they live in and the District Nurse.  A CHW focuses on informing the village about issues that may affect them.  The CHW then feeds back to the District Nurse. Examples of this feedback might be concerns about an infection outbreak or alerting them about a sick elderly person. The CHW role helps reduce the challenges that arise due to lack of access to health services. 

Building capacity in Community Health Care workers

The main goal of the project is to support the function of the District Nurse.   We strive to build capacity in the 14 Community Health Workers that span between Dawasamu and Bureiwai Districts.  Our project supports human resources management, CHW service delivery,  and skills development.

Skills development includes workshops such as first aid and knowledge of particular health issues.  An example of this is a training day where participants learned some first aid skills and then attended sessions about various local health issues.  The training day included opportunities for feedback and discussions. 

Supporting the community in the pandemic

Since COVID 19 outbreak we have been supporting district nurses for Dawasamu and Sawakasa. We have been spreading the word to local communities about government advice to help prevent the spread of Covid 19.  We have also been emphasizing the importance of good handwashing practice.

We worked with the two nurses on creating packs for local community health workers to use with their villages. This included flashcards, reporting documentation, and emergency action plans. 

These packs benefited 30 villages.

How can you help?

The effectiveness of this health care model relies on the skills, knowledge, and available resources for the Community Health Workers. Your donation can help provide training and create valuable resources.  The global pandemic makes this project even more crucial.  Local villages need to be well informed on preventative processes, symptoms, and reporting processes.

This project impacts the villages of 14 Community Health Workers. The approach is sustainable. The upskilling of the CHW and the preparation means that the project can continue into the future creating ongoing impact.