Ministry of Health

The agreement was formalised at a signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Health by Silas Bule, Minister of Health and Sarah de Zoeten, Australia’s High Commissioner to Vanuatu.

They signed a Direct Funding Arrangement to support the Ministry of Health’s response to Tropical Cyclone Harold and COVID-19.

Mr Bule expressed his “sincere appreciation to Australia for its longstanding partnership in health with the Government and the people of Vanuatu on various health development programs to meet the people’s needs.”

“The support to the health sector in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as Tropical Cyclone Harold is possible in part through a longstanding partnership between the Ministry of Health and the Government of Australia”, stated Dr. Posikai Samuel, Acting Director Curative Services.

Ifereimi Waqainabete's comments came after reports that six families in the greater Suva area had refused screening procedures, including having their temperatures taken.

The minister said officials were returning to convince the families to be screened as part of a greater community programme which had involved more than 6,000 locals.

But Mr Waqainabete said ultimately, the families did not have a choice.

The Daily Post reports George Taleo is alleged to have caused the accident last month, while driving his own car under the influence of alcohol.

The suspension was ordered by the Public Service Commission, whose chair, Martin Mahe, said Mr Taleo missed work while in police custody.

Mr Taleo was involved in another accident in 2017, in which a government vehicle was damaged.

The Director General (DG) of the MoH, George Taleo, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Director of the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Abraham Nasak, DG for the Ministry of Lands, Author Faerua, and a Statistics Officer, Jimmy Tamkela, on Monday to establish geospatial data cooperation.

MoH said the agreement will foster information sharing between the government bodies to create better information products that support decision making about public services.

The new Director of Health Services, Russell Tamata said the two centres won't be attached to the referral hospitals but will operate independently as one-step centres to care for NCD patients.

Mr Tamata said the two hubs are in the process of partnering with churches to contribute items including wheelchairs to use to care for NCD amputees and other conditions.

He said with confidence that donor partners are already interested in the new project.

The Ministry is reminding people with these conditions that these products have not undergone the same level of clinical assessment as medicines prescribed by doctors.

It said prescribed medicines should not be stopped unless there's advice from a doctor or nurse.

A statement from the Ministry said most of the products are promoted, sometimes untruthfully, as cures or health aids for patients.

It said the products were often expensive and for this reason people think they must be good.