WISH Fiji Reduces Water-Related Disease Risk; Facilitates Access to Cleaner Water
Through a systems approach to watershed management, the Watershed Interventions for Systems Health in Fiji (WISH Fiji) project has provided access to cleaner quality water for over 5,000 residents and has helped reduce the risk of water-related disease in 29 communities across five watersheds in Fiji. Over the past four years, the WISH Fiji project …
Improving water quality and human health
By Kinikoto Mailautoka, WISH Fiji Catchment Coordinator On a sunny Tuesday morning in April 2021, the districts of Namosi, Wainikoroiluva, Veinuqa, and Naqarawai in the interior of Namosi gathered for catchment management training. They met at the newly commissioned Namosi Government Station in Dada, for 2 days of information sharing and deliberation, to identify actions to better …
Water Intervention in Naqarawai Village
By Kinikoto Mailautoka, WISH Fiji Catchment Coordinator Recent implementation of clean water infrastructure in Naqarawai Village was the first large-scale intervention for Namosi District led by the WISH Fiji project. This initiative will improve drinking water quality and supply and reduces the risk of water-borne infections in the community. The first step in the implementation …
Forests for the good health of Fijians
Forests offer a range of ecosystems services that benefit people both directly (such as food) or indirectly (such as the regulation of our climate). Many generations of Fijians have always had a strong cultural connection with the forests. For many naturally rich communities in Fiji, forests provide food, clean water, building materials, herbal medicines and …
New water infrastructure benefits Bureta communities
For almost two decades, the villagers of Naviteitei, Nasaga and Tai in the Bureta District situated on Ovalau Island in the province of Lomaiviti, faced difficulties in accessing sufficient and unpolluted supply of water from the dam to their homes. The problem as told by many, was the continuous clogging of the dam by sediments …
WCS strengthens partnership with Ministry of Agriculture
On 17 March 2021, the Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji Country Program (WCS Fiji) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture to collectively advance and promote sustainable agricultural practices and wise land-use planning as integral components of social and economic development in Fiji. The agreement was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the …
WISH Fiji prepares MoHMS staff for water quality assessment post-TC Yasa
Access to clean drinking water is critical to public health. Natural disasters such as flooding and cyclones often reduce the quality of drinking water. Heavy rain and flooding can cause contamination of water from livestock waste, human sewage, harmful chemicals and fertilisers. Once contaminated, drinking water can become a hazard to human health and efficiently transmit deadly …
New dam and collection box to improve water quality and supply in Bureta
A newly constructed dam in Bureta District in Ovalau Island in the Province of Lomaiviti will improve the quality and supply of water for at least 350 people. The new dam will serve fresh water to three villages, a settlement, the Bureta Airstrip, the local health center and a primary school. For past three years, …
Village water supply restored after borehole rehabilitation
The repairing of a borehole in Tavulomo Village in the district of Dama in Bua Province has brought water to more than 180 people. In April 2020, the solar pump was damaged and stopped delivering water from the borehole to the 37 households in Tavulomo Village. Since then, the villages relied on the limited and …
Water and Sanitation Safety Plans to enhance drinking water quality and reduce health risks for rural communities
17 September 2020 While grappling with the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Fiji’s Ministry of Health and Medical Services is continuing to monitor and respond to outbreaks in water-related diseases, particularly typhoid, leptospirosis and dengue fever (LTD). In the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Harold that passed through Fiji in April 2020, the Ministry announced an outbreak …