No Child Should Die for Lack of Oxygen
Great News - we are delighted to be able to advise you, our funders and supporters, that The Rotary Foundation has approved our Fiji Oxygen Global Grant. The funds available total US$404,767. Of that amount 45 per cent has been provided by you and by our clubs. Rotary districts around the world have provided a further 15 per cent and The Rotary Foundation grant amounts to 40 per cent (approximately) and is paid in two instalments.
The delivery of the project is in the joint hands of our cooperating partners, Cure Kids, Fiji Ministry of Health & Medical Services (Fiji MoHMS) and an expert team from the University of Auckland, ably led by Associate Professor Stephen Howie.
Cure Kids Fiji was launched in 2006 in partnership with Accor Hotels. Since then, Cure Kids has partnered with Fiji MoHMS to deliver more than FJ$7 million of initiatives in child health. In recent years, Cure Kids Fiji has focused on preventing and improving outcomes for children living with rheumatic heart disease. Also on improving oxygen supplies in health facilities to prevent death and illness from severe respiratory conditions.
Cure Kids has already demonstrated proof of concept with the installation of oxygen concentrators at six sites in Fiji. The photos show the concentrators being unpacked at Taveuni Hospital and the solar power unit at Nausori Health Centre, two of the existing established sites.
The Rotary phase of the Fiji Oxygen Project will see an additional twenty-four concentrators installed at eight new sites in Fiji, three of which will have solar power generation. Cure Kids will install these progressively over the next two years.
Of the intended eight sites, three are in the south of Viti Levu, three in Vanua Levu and one on each of Taveuni and Rabi Islands. The locations are Wainikoro, Seqaqa, Waimaqera, Rabi, Natewa, Navua, Wainibokasi and Sigatoka (approximate locations pin-pointed below). The final list of sites has been determined by a Project Steering Group with government representatives and approved by Fiji MoHMS.
Using Rotary funds, Cure Kids will also supply twenty pulse oximeters to ten nursing stations to enable better diagnosis of patients’ oxygen needs. The steering group has nominated the following stations to receive these: Naweni, Nabalebale, Navakaka, Kioa, Bagasau, Yadua, Bua, Navakasiga, Kubulau and Navua.
Unfortunately the COVID-19 situation limits the ability to have all of our experts on the ground in Fiji at the moment. The Rotary implementation phase has had to be postponed to 1 July 2020 due to travel restrictions and key technicians that are needed to handle the COVID-19 response. The steering group and Cure Kids continue their hard work on the project and are currently updating the phased plan for rolling out to the above sites, in response to the unforeseen time delays. Come 1 July it will be “All engines, full ahead”.
The primary Rotary contacts on the project are Malini Raghwan (PDG D9920) of the Rotary Club of Suva (the host sponsor) and Catherine Holden of the Rotary Club of Remuera (the international sponsor). Both have expressed delight that the life-saving project has been accepted as an official Rotary Foundation project. Catherine said “It has been a bit of a journey to get to this magic point, but now we are onto the exciting bit – turning dollars in the bank into medical equipment and training to healthcare personnel. Many health facilities in Fiji haven’t had a reliable supply of oxygen, so this project meets an urgent need for children in Fiji.”
The Rotary Foundation is the charitable trust of Rotary International, the worldwide service organisation founded in 1905, which is now established in over 150 countries. The Rotary Foundation is recognised as one of the most effective and well-managed charitable organizations in the world. The Foundation supports Rotary International in its activities including those that reduce the causes and effects of disease. In the 2018-19 year, The Foundation supported project grants, Rotary Peace Centers and programmes to the sum of US$135 million, in addition to US$151 million towards ending polio.
This Oxygen Project is helping strengthen healthcare systems in Fiji with great funding. If you have any questions about the project or Rotary organisation, please do not hesitate to contact us via email: rotaryremuera@gmail.com or rcsuva@gmail.com.
Thank you ~ Vinaka vakalevu
