Page 24 - IB February 2024

Health

exposed to the virus, and getting vaccinated as well.” the last variant and now, there’s a bit of a stall.”
Papua New Guinea’s National Department of Health recently Dr Kafoa says SPC has been working with agencies such
launched a Routine Immunization Toolkit “to address the low as the WHO to “support our diagnostic capabilities like labs
immunisation coverage in PNG”. and testing kits for our populations, that our labs be able to
“PNG’s immunisation coverage has been consistently low identify the variants and test them and send them overseas
over the last decade and dwindled further down to below for genome sequencing.
50% in the last few years,” the health department said in a “We’re trying to encourage [Pacific Island countries] to have
statement. rapid testing kits, so that each person can be tested at the
Secretary for PNG’s Department of Health, Dr Osborne health centre level,” he said.
Liko, said misinformation, service delivery hurdles, access Risk communication is another area that SPC hopes to
to immunisation services—particularly in rural areas—and a strengthen in the Pacific in view of possible future outbreaks.
pervasive lack of motivation and awareness contribute to low “During COVID, a lot of misinformation was happening,
immunisation coverage. and therefore, we have to continue to work with the
The toolkit will help improve community awareness and communications people to be sure that the right information
demand for vaccines, he said. is out there.”
“We need to dispel myths and fears surrounding The United States Agency for International Development
immunisation, strengthen our health service delivery, (USAID) recently pledged US$5 million to “strengthen
particularly in remote regions, which is essential to guarantee pandemic preparedness and response capabilities in Fiji and
that families can easily access immunisation services.” countries across the region.”
Dr Kafoa emphasised: “It’s very important to know that Fiji was one of the first Pacific Island countries in 2021
vaccines do not cure COVID. It just boosts your immune to record high-levels of COVID positive cases and deaths,
system to be able to respond to COVID and therefore, implement a country-wide lockdown, and administer a
you have a better chance of overcoming it without any nationwide vaccination program.
complications. Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr Jemesa Tudravu,
“The virus will mutate, and you can get infected, whether in a statement, said: “The ministry had identified for some
you’re vaccinated or not,” he added. time that risk communication is an area of need and requires
On how long the trend of new COVID cases will last, Dr strengthening. We are delighted that USAID has come on
Kafoa said: “We’ll be expecting maybe like a seasonal flu board, and is willing to support the ministry through the
every year, and we might get a mutation of COVID every year. donation of much needed risk communication equipment, as
I guess it’s the current trend. Something might change in the well as assist in capacity building.”
future, and they might mutate more frequently, but between

PREPARE FOR ‘DISEASE X’: WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL

As the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to research and monitor the COVID-19 virus, the world must also
prepare for the so-called ‘Disease X’, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, said at a meeting of the World
Economic Forum in January.
“There are things that are unknown that may happen. And anything happening is a matter of when, not if. So we need to
have a placeholder for the diseases that we don’t know that may come. You may even call COVID as the first Disease X, and
it may happen again,” said Dr Ghebreyesus.
Dr Mark Jacobs, WHO’s Representative to the South Pacific, says countries have been working to develop an international
legal agreement, also known as the ‘pandemic accord’ to “prevent a repeat of the immense health, social, and economic
impacts that the world was experiencing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
“Despite a few misunderstandings expressed on social media, it is the countries themselves, including Pacific Island
countries, who are deciding what the accord says, and it is countries who will implement the accord in line with their own
national laws,” he told Islands Business.
“All people around the world, including those of us living in Pacific Island countries, would gain from the better pandemic
preparedness and response that an effective accord could bring. For example, it could help ensure that countries are
alerted to potential threats earlier, that health workers are better equipped with skills and equipment, and that vaccines
are distributed more fairly. This would mean that countries can respond faster to future outbreaks and even prevent some
from becoming pandemics.”

24 Islands Business, February 2024