FIJI NURSING ASSOCIATION
52ND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
11 JULY 2009
OPENING ADDRESS BY THE AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER
H E MR JAMES BATLEY
Thank you very much for that kind introduction and may I say how honoured I am to have been invited to be your Chief Guest on this, the occasion of your 52nd Annual General Meeting. Of course, even to mention the fact that this is your 52nd AGM serves to remind us of the long and distinguished history of this proud organisation.
FNA is part of a global alliance of similar professional bodies, the International Council of Nurses. I am proud to say that an Australian, Rosemary Bryant, was recently elected as the President of the International Council of Nurses. Just last year, Ms Bryant was appointed to the position of Australia’s Chief Nurse. She is the first holder of this position, which was established by the Australian Government in 2008 in recognition of the major role played by the nursing profession in the delivery of effective health care in Australia.
I spoke to Rosemary Bryant earlier this week and she has asked me to pass on the following message to you all, and I quote:
My greetings and best wishes for a successful meeting to all those attending the Fiji Nursing Association's 52nd Annual General Meeting. At its Quadrennial meeting in Durban, South Africa, ICN admitted Suriname into membership which now means that there are 133 countries in membership with ICN. My watchword as President of the ICN is "access". I very much value the contribution which the Fiji Nursing Association brings to our global membership, and I welcome the theme of your AGM: "Leading Change: Building Healthier Nations with Nurses". Unquote.
How often we are reminded of the debt we owe to nurses. There can be few professions which touch the life of virtually every individual, from the very moment of our birth through to the end. But the theme of your AGM alerts us to the key role that nurses, and the nursing profession, play not only in the life of individuals, but in the life of communities, of nations.
In any country you care to name, well-functioning health systems are the foundation of productive workforces and national development in the broadest sense. It is no coincidence that three of the United Nations’ eight Millennium Development Goals are directly related to your line of work: Reducing Child Mortality; Improving Maternal Health; and Combatting HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Nurses are in the front line in all these areas.
And, right now, the nursing profession is once again in the front line as the world faces the threat of the H1N1 influenza pandemic.
I’m pleased that Australia is also playing its part in supporting Fiji’s preparations in the fight against this disease. For instance:
• Australian funding, through the WHO, has provided 15,750 courses of Tamiflu, which arrived in Fiji on 4 June 2009;
• We have worked with the Ministry of Health, including by providing funding, to develop a H1N1 Influenza television and radio public awareness campaign; and to design and produce pamphlets to be given to passengers arriving in Fiji and for the general public;
• And we have also provided $200,000 towards the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) to be provided to a number of Pacific Island countries, including Fiji. These funds were provided by Australia under the Secretariat of the Pacific Community's (SPC) Pacific Regional Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Project (PRIPPP).
This assistance is, of course, consistent with Australia’s long history of assistance in the health sector in Fiji.
Over the past five years, through our Fiji Health Sector Improvement Program (2004-2009), Australia has committed A$27 million to improve the quality and delivery of health services in Fiji, in partnership with the Ministry of Health.
This program has provided support to the Ministry of Health in the areas of rural and public health, information systems, clinical services, and management systems. For instance, we have:
• provided funding to help improve immunisation services for Fiji’s children;
• provided funding for the installation of radio telephones (RT), boats, and solar electrification projects in a number of rural and remote health centres; and
• supported a twinning arrangement between CWM Hospital and Sandringham Hospital in Victoria, which has helped to streamline CWM’s General Outpatient, and Accident & Emergency Department procedures. I understand this has resulted in a significant reduction in waiting times for patients at CWM.
Our program has also provided assistance to Fiji’s nurses. In 2008, for instance, we provided support to the Fiji School of Nursing through the development of a postgraduate midwifery curriculum, upgrading of library and IT resources, and the establishment of a research unit.
This has continued in 2009 with the development of a National Nursing Standards Handbook, Anaesthetic Technician training, and training of national Immunization Nurses.
More generally, Australia’s aid program is investing in the health sector throughout the Pacific region, and this includes helping to build the capacity of the region’s nurses.
One way we are doing this is by funding scholarships to the Fiji School of Nursing. This year we are providing scholarships for eleven students from Kiribati, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Fiji.
Another way we are helping to strengthen the health sector in the region, including nurses, is through our financial support for the establishment, last year, of the Pacific Human Resources for Health Alliance (PHRHA). The Alliance includes health representatives from all 22 Pacific island countries and territories. WHO is currently the interim secretariat for the Alliance. The key idea behind the Alliance is to improve communication and information exchange on human resource issues in the health sector in the region.
Through the Alliance, we have recently provided A$1.25 million to assist Pacific Island countries align nurse education curricula to meet changing national health needs and models of health service delivery, to improve teaching and learning methods and to promote critical thinking skills of nurses. We’re confident that this assistance will contribute to raising the standard of nursing education and nursing services in the region to a uniformly high standard.
Last year, the Alliance commissioned the University of New South Wales to conduct a study of human resources for health in the region. For Fiji, the research findings noted that there are 2,104 positions available for nurses and midwives, with 93% of these positions being filled, and 7% vacant.
More importantly, the study also revealed a gap at the senior management level, with a relative over-supply at the general nurse level. The new retirement age policy, introduced since the study was undertaken, may have continued this trend. Training and upskilling of nurses to fill these important managerial roles will be an important priority for the Ministry of Health.
I understand that, drawing on the research findings, the Ministry plans to conduct a health workforce review later this year. Australia will provide financial assistance towards that review.
Having sketched out some of the ways in which Australia has supported the health sector in Fiji in the past, and continues to do so, I feel it would be remiss of me as Australia’s representative in Fiji not to speak briefly about our broader policy towards Fiji at this time, not least because our policies are often distorted by others.
The meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group yesterday in Vanuatu has highlighted the issue of the Fiji interim government’s suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum. This is of particular interest as Australia will be hosting the annual Forum Leaders meeting in Queensland in less than a month’s time.
As Australia’s Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has said, and I quote:
When Forum Leaders assemble in Cairns in August this year for our annual gathering, Fiji’s absence will be something we all feel keenly, and indeed regret. But it will also be a sign of our region’s commitment to the core values of democracy, respect for the rule of law and for human rights.
Importantly, the Prime Minister went on to say:
Does the Forum’s door remain open? I hope so. Forum Leaders have made a point of suspending Fiji’s interim government, not Fiji itself, from the Forum. This is an important distinction which underlines our respect for a founding member of the Forum, and also our hope that Fiji can quickly return to its place as a leader of our region.
End of quote.
Like our other neighbours in the region, and in common with other members of the international community, Australia has been deeply concerned by developments in Fiji since the coup in December 2006, and particularly since the abrogation of the Constitution in April this year.
For all our concerns, Australia and Fiji are neighbours and will always remain so. We have indissoluble links of history and culture, our economies are intertwined with each other, we have significant populations living in each other’s country. Those are just some of the reasons why Australia will – in the words of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd – “continue to seek constructive ways of helping the people of Fiji, and helping Fiji itself return to democracy. We will continue our targeted travel sanctions while maintaining significant support to the people of Fiji including in the areas of health, education and humanitarian relief.
“Australia also stands ready to provide significant economic assistance to Fiji to assist it through its current economic problems provided there is a restoration of democracy. This would include support for elections and would also extend well beyond this, to help rebuild Fiji’s broken economy.”
The world is going through a very difficult economic crisis at present. In Fiji, the impact of this crisis has been magnified by the effect of political developments over recent years. Many people are struggling to make ends meet and there are not enough resources to go around. These are challenges which require fortitude, imagination and cooperation. Your Association is well-placed to play a constructive role in responding to these challenges. There is great strength in unity.
I would like to close by once again paying tribute to the role that nurses play in our society. Too often you are taken for granted. So on behalf of everyone who has ever benefitted from the care and attention of nurses, today I think it is my responsibility – but also my pleasure - to say thank you to you and all your colleagues.
Thank you once again for inviting me as your Chief Guest on this occasion, and please accept my very best wishes for a successful AGM and for a successful year ahead.