Caption: Minister for Health and Medical Services, Jone Usamate says water, sanitation and hygiene is a basic necessity for good health.Photo:SUPPLIED.
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services is working in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Pacific on the use of mobile phone technology to collate data on basic health sanitation access in Fiji schools.
Stakeholders are working together through a training program in collaboration with the Akvo Foundation – a mobile software organization that transforms field monitoring using android smartphones uses mobile phone data collection and reporting tool on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) activities.
The data collected would show the status of water and sanitation access in a particular school and identify actions required from other government departments.
The Hon. Minister for Health and Medical Services Jone Usamate said the use of mobile and wireless technologies to support the achievement of health objectives has the potential to transform the face of health service delivery in Fiji.
“Water, sanitation and hygiene as a basic necessity for good health is a fundamental building block for economical and development growth. There is a need to monitor and maintain the surveillance of WASH in both schools and communities through efficient and consistent data collection,” Usamate said.
Around 20 WASH partners are participating in the training to use mobile phone technology to collect and analyze the situation of WASH in schools and communities.
Minister Usamate added that the roll out of the WASH program will be in 15 selected schools within the Nausori school district.
The Fiji training will focus on empowering key water and sanitation sector partners and collaborators to improve reporting on WASH in Fiji and also identify key gaps for access and provision of safe drinking water and safe sanitation to schools and vulnerable communities.
Some of the participants included Water Authority of Fiji, Habitat for Humanity Fiji, Project Heaven, Fijian Teachers Association, Ministry of Education, Fiji Department of Water and Sewerage, Fiji Red Cross and other non-governmental organizations.
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