CAPTION: PM Bainimarama officially opens Naboro Sawanikula Primary School.
1. PRIME MINISTER REMINDS PARENTS OF GOVERNMENT’S EDUCATION REFORMS – Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama has reminded parents and guardians of Naboro Sawanikula Primary School, government’s educational reforms.
2. MINISTER KUBUABOLA MEETS WITH FIJI STUDENTS IN CUBA – “Perseverance and sheer hard work is the key to success”. These were words of encouragement given to Fijian students by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola when he visited the Latin American School of Medical Sciences, (ELAM) this week.
3. TRADE AND INVESTMENT MISSION TO PAPUA NEW GUINEA – In preparation for the Trade and Investment Mission to Papua New Guinea (PNG) the Permanent Secretary for Industry and Trade, Mr. Shaheen Ali, updated the private sector delegates on the preparation, programme and logistics of the Trade and Investment Mission.
4. FIJI JOINS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS HEALTH ISSUES – Fiji today joins the international community in recognising World Health Day and address health issues around the globe.
1. PRIME MINISTER REMINDS PARENTS OF GOVERNMENT’S EDUCATION REFORMS
Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama has reminded parents and guardians of Naboro Sawanikula Primary School, government’s educational reforms.
PM Bainimarama while opening the school yesterday stressed the need for parents to be always conscious of the needs of their children in their classrooms.
“We all understand that education of our children is not the responsibility of Government alone, your contribution as parents and members of the vanua is vital in enhancing the education of our children,” PM Bainimarama said.
He urged parents of the school and the vanua to make very good use of the new school for the benefit of their children.
“You must work together to increase the school roll in years to come. You should make use of this school to be a source of blessing to our children in the future,”PM Bainimarama said.
PM Bainimarama said students will have to be educated well to fit into the fast pace of development and technology in the world today.
“Our children will grow up in a world that is changing . I believe when we were at their age we did not dream of using the computer and television present today. Likewise our children will grow up in a totally new world with so many advances in technology therefore they need to be educated well,” PM Bainimarama said.
He reiterated the fact that Government is serious in developing rural areas around the country.
“Government is continuing developing rural areas. Rural people therefore should take part in these developments so that we can reduce poverty and the hand out mentality we have been used to in the past,” he said.
The head of government commended nearby communities for their contribution towards the development of the school which will cater for 120 students in the area from classes 1 to 8.
“The school has been officially registered and the construction cost more than Nine Thousand dollars. I understand that the contribution by the three villages was more than Twenty Thousand dollars,” PM Bainimarama said.
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2. MINISTER KUBUABOLA MEETS WITH FIJI STUDENTS IN CUBA
“Perseverance and sheer hard work is the key to success”. These were words of encouragement given to Fijian students by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola when he visited the Latin American School of Medical Sciences, (ELAM) this week.
There are currently 14 Fijian students studying at ELAM with a total of close to 200 medical students from four countries of the pacific region including Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tonga. Minister Kubuabola had a casual exchange with the students yesterday, 5th April to consider some of the difficulties that the students were currently faced with.
One of the students said they were fairing well and all the students are coping with studies. While the first year students are preparing for the upcoming exams, three of the students will be completing their second year and will be preparing to leave ELAM from August or September of this year as they will be posted out to different provinces. The school will be dividing them up, mostly by country delegation and sending them to the outer provinces for specialized training.
Minister Kubuabola reiterated to the students on government’s intentions of sending Fijian students to renowned medical institutions all over the world and it is important for the students to return home with these vast knowledge and skills to serve their country.
During this visit, the students also received their student allowances and laptops provided by the Public Service Commission (PSC) which is usually delivered biannually to the students by the Fiji Permanent Mission in New York. The students were grateful to the PSC for providing them with the relevant assistance they need which has certainly boosted their morale and performance.
The Minister also met with the executive team at ELAM and thanked them for their assistance to the Fijian students thus far.
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3. TRADE AND INVESTMENT MISSION TO PAPUA NEW GUINEA
In preparation for the Trade and Investment Mission to Papua New Guinea (PNG) the Permanent Secretary for Industry and Trade, Mr. Shaheen Ali, updated the private sector delegates on the preparation, programme and logistics of the Trade and Investment Mission. The briefing was held, on Friday, 5 April 2012, at the FRCA Training Room and was attended by over 40 private sector representatives.
“The purpose of the meeting was to update the private sector on the preparations for the Trade and Investment Mission, which is being held in conjunction with the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama’s inaugural State Visit to PNG” said Mr. Ali.
“The Prime Minister’s State Visit is scheduled for 15 April, and will give the Trade and Investment Mission a high level of exposure and prominence in the PNG market. The Trade and Investment Mission, which includes a Trade and Investment Seminar, Exhibition and private sector meetings will be held over a two-day period (17-18 April)” added Mr. Ali.
“The main objective of the Mission is to promote and strengthen bilateral and economic relations between Fiji and PNG, to solidify the MSG unity and to create growth through trade and investment. The Exhibition will enable our Fijian businesses to showcase their products, services and capabilities in PNG” added Mr. Ali.
“Approximately 70 representative from over 40 companies from the Wholesale and Retail, Textile Clothing and Footwear, Financial Services, Security Service Providers, Technologies, Jewellery and Creative Arts, Engineering and Construction, Transportation, Furnishing & Property Development and Recruitment Services, have confirmed participation in the Trade and Investment Mission, making this Mission by far the largest Trade and Investment Mission from Fiji.
This indicates the importance of the PNG market to Fiji” said the Permanent Secretary.
The Mission will also feature a two day exhibition that will feature Fijian Made and Fiji’s award winning products. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and Investment Fiji have taken a proactive role to ensure that maximum benefit is derived from this Mission.
Investment Fiji Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Uluilakeba says that, “this mission will be conducted with the objective to explore export opportunities, attract strategic joint-venture partners for investment, explore opportunities for our skilled and unskilled workforce and source machinery, raw material, packaging material, building material, consumer products etc. from these countries to improve business efficiency and competitiveness for exports”.
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4. FIJI JOINS INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS HEALTH ISSUES
Fiji today joins the international community in recognising World Health Day and address health issues around the globe.
World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organisation in 1948. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of public health concern in the world.
The theme for 2013 is high blood pressure. In Fiji one out of four adults in the country has high blood pressure. And two out of three people surveyed did not even know they had a problem.
This was revealed in the recent Non-Communicable Diseases survey.
According to the survey result, warning signs of high blood pressure were vague or usually absent. “High blood pressure can cause damage to the brain, heart, kidneys and eyes.
“People with uncontrolled hypertension can suffer from strokes, heart diseases or failure, chronic kidney failure and nerve damage in the eyes leading to blindness says Health Minister Dr. Neil Sharma.
People who smoke cigarettes, are overweight or obese, and have a family history of hypertension should have their blood pressure checked.
People who take large amounts of alcohol, too much salt and are more than 30 years old should also get checked for high blood pressure. Other people who need to have their blood pressure checked are those under a lot of stress and those taking medicines or pills for any medical condition or reason.
“Sometimes high blood pressure can cause symptoms such as headache, shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain, palpitations of the heart or nose bleeds.
“If people ignore measuring blood pressure because they think symptoms will alert them to the problem, then it can be dangerous because high blood pressure is often a silent killer.”
The Fiji National Nutrition Survey 2004 showed that a higher proportion of males were found to have borderline hypertension and hypertension before the age of 45 compared to females. However, a reversal was observed at 45 years and over with females showing a higher proportion of hypertension compared to males.
There is the potential for changing this situation in Fiji. Public education about the risks of hypertension could lead to more people receiving treatment. Decreased salt in the diet, weight loss, more reliance on fruits and vegetables and traditional foods, increased exercise in the urban population, and better compliance with medication may all decrease the complication rate from hypertension.
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