[p?c1=2&c2=8187772&cv=2.0&cj=1] [pixel.gif?bad-robot] IFRAME: /xl?c=SCSG;iframeid=ad_4D2F26BA8BD2_SCSG Scoop - Independent News Contact Newsagent Login World Search Scoop ____________________ [red_icon.gif]-Submit WIRES: * SCOOPS * PARLIAMENT * POLITICS * REGIONAL * BUSINESS * SCI-TECH * WORLD * CULTURE * EDUCATION * HEALTH * SECTIONS: * COMMENT * MULTIMEDIA * NZ POLITICS * BIZ & SCI/TECH * WORLD * LIFESTYLE * ARCHIVES * MOST READ * VIDEO World Video | Defence | Fiji | Foreign Affairs | Natural Events | Trade | NZ in World News | NZ National News Video | NZ Regional News | More Categories Find related articles E-mail It Print It Scoop It Scoop >> World >> SPC seeks new sources of vital health funding Saturday, 30 October 2010, 10:26 pm Press Release: Secretariat of the Pacific Community SPC seeks new sources of vital health funding Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea, Friday 29 October 2010—The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) is seeking new sources of funding to sustain the long-term battle against the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which kill more than half of the region’s people prematurely. Delegates at the 40th meeting of SPC’s Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations (CRGA) in Noumea voiced concern on Wednesday that SPC’s public health division could lose some of its technical capacity to respond to this high priority health concern and on pandemic preparedness. Related Stories on Scoop * International Year of Biodiversity 06/12/2010 * Pacific Health Professionals Address Epidemics 02/11/2010 * Major gathering of Pacific health professionals 01/11/2010 * SPC Will Be A 'Larger Organisation' In 2011 29/10/2010 * SPC To Help Fight Cholera Outbreak 08/01/2010 Results powered by search.scoop.co.nz More Related Stories >>> The division’s director, Mr Bill Parr, told the meeting that one of the largest health projects managed by SPC—the AUD$26million Pacific NCD Programme funded by Australia and New Zealand—was due to finish at the end of 2011. Fiji described this work as ‘vital to our communities’ and for which development partners should be thanked. It was concerned though about the loss of funding and suggested that SPC seek support from alternative, non-traditional sources such as China to ‘lighten the load carried by our traditional donors’. Samoa noted the bleak picture for the Pacific of having amongst the world’s highest rates of NCDs—such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer—and plateaus in life expectancy rates in many countries of the Pacific. It wanted to associate with Fiji in its call on CRGA to recommend alternative, non-traditional donors. The work of SPC on NCDs, TB and influenza preparedness was greatly appreciated, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and Kiribati said. They were concerned that the division may lose some of its capacity to respond on these issues. New Zealand noted the concerns and added that as projects concluded and countries now had national strategies, there was a need to reflect on what needs to be delivered at a regional level. In response to the submissions, SPC Director-General Dr Jimmie Rodgers said it was crucial that countries had the capacity to manage large grants such as those from the Global Fund on malaria and from AusAID and NZAid on NCDs. As countries developed this capacity, SPC could withdraw from managing grants. But in the meantime if they requested help, SPC could not decline on the basis of it not being defined as a ‘regional’ project. SPC had meanwhile started talking to new potential development partners and were keen to follow through to ensure the long-term sustainability of assistance. “We are reasonably good fisher folks (in the region) and our lines are out there,” he told the meeting. With 63% of its health budget tied up in grant management of disease-specific projects, Dr Rodgers said SPC was working on an exit strategy from managing funds. “We do not see grant management as a long-term role for SPC,” he said. Likewise, in areas where SPC has expertise, it would prefer development partners first use SPC’s technical assistance expertise on national projects. The tendency was to use consultants, which while good usually, did not leave behind a backstopping provision of assistance. It was very important that SPC become the first stop in dealing with countries. At the request of its member countries, the public health division was being restructured from a disease and development funding focus to a ‘whole of health’ and country-based approach to support the 1995 Healthy Islands vision of Pacific Islands health ministers. When completed in early 2011, the division will have four new units: disease surveillance, research, control and response; health advancement; grant management; and quality, performance and management support. Mr Bill Parr said the high reliance on project funding represented a particular vulnerability for the division. In spite of the challenges of the restructure, Mr Parr said the division continued to make a difference in the region in 2010. He cited SPC projects with other agencies that helped reduce mortality and prevalence rates of TB (down 39% and 43% respectively from 2000 to 2010 [latest WHO revised estimates]), and the incidence of confirmed malaria (down 60% over the past seven years). Thanks to the SPC-led Pacific NCD programme with WHO, 14 Pacific Islands countries and territories have national NCD plans and 80 per cent of countries and territories are covered. Fifteen major country contracts have been signed, 12 health professionals appointed as national NCD coordinators, and 48 small grants awarded to 18 countries on projects aimed at the key risk factors of smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, physical activity and nutrition. More people are receiving HIV counseling and testing. Diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among pregnant women are increasing, Mr Parr said. In some countries 40 per cent sexually active young people have Chlamydia. The division had also contributed positively to health system strengthening, preparedness for disease outbreaks, laboratory and diagnostic services, health financing, procurement and supply management systems. A total of 44 training course were delivered to 478 health workers in 12 PICTs, and 33 national health positions financed through grants in the year to date. ends * Subscribe * News Alerts * Rss World Headlines WORLD > > Full Coverage: Palin Blood Libel [ff2c904907211fe90ef8.jpeg] Queensland Floods: Flickr Photo Essays Scoop has picked out a selection of the best Flickr photos of the floods in Queensland. The photos show extensive flooding in the Queensland featuring flood ravaged towns Toowoomba and Rockhampton. 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More>> Get More From Scoop [247565faf938d1b79d83.jpeg] Submit News/Press Releases To Scoop [1db8ad2d3a6c3ec14e72.jpeg] Join The Scoop Media Facebook Group [741ef64b0f6ca75ea195.jpeg] Follow Scoop Independent News on Twitter [2900_Ffunnell_Jobs_160x40.png] Search latest Jobs Positions $150k+ NZ Govt Jobs Media & Ent. Jobs NZ IT Positions Salary Advice * NZ On Screen Latest * Screentalk Interviews * This episode from series five of Kete Aronui, a documentary series featuring Aotearoa's artists that screened on Māori Television, follows the careers of iconic contemporary dancers Taane Mete and Tairoa Royale. For both, training at Te Whaea propelled them into their art, teaching them not only technique but also a way of life. Featuring footage of Royale dancing in Douglas Wright's Forever (1993), the excerpt also includes a dance class with Michael Parmenter, another dance great, and discussion of dance companies Limbs and Black Grace. Kete Aronui - Taane Mete & Tairoa Royale 13 Feb- Television, 2007 * Episode 17, series five of Kete Aronui, a documentary series featuring Aotearoa's artists that screened on Maori Television, follows film pioneer Merata Mita. Mita produced vital work anchored in culture and community. This extract concentrates on the occupation of Bastion Point - Mita and protest leader Joe Hawke talk of how 25 May 1978 shaped her concerns as a filmmaker: "It was life, it was a transformation". Includes footage from Patu, Mauri, Bastion Point: Day 507, and Utu, as well as covering Mita's work running a lab for indigenous filmmakers. Kete Aronui - Merata Mita 13 Feb- Television, 2007 * A tale of infuriating fathers and very fast go-karts, The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell marks Robyn Malcolm’s first leading role on film. Malcolm plays Gail, long-suffering wife to the charming, ambitious Gazza Snell. Obsessed with go-karting, Gazza has banked heavily on the hope his sons’ racing talents will result in motorsport glory. But Gail is unconvinced. Australian talent William McInnes (Unfinished Sky, SeaChange) plays Gazza; the script is by Insiders Guide to Happiness award-winners David Brechin-Smith and Brendan Donovan (who also directs). The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell 13 Feb- Film, 2010 * Episode four, series four of this Māori artists’ profile series, tracks eminent photographer Fiona Pardington. In this extract Pardington works with her brother Neil, and discusses her life path: her Māori roots, wanting to be a photographer at age six, art school, and the hard road to making a living as an artist. Describing her medium as one of mood and depth, her search is for a balance of knowledge and wairua. Includes images of her stunning interpretations of cultural taonga, such as specimens of esteemed (and extinct) huia birds, and carved pounamu. Kete Aronui - Fiona Pardington 13 Feb- Television, 2006 * Made in the early 70s, this 13-part National Film Unit series includes footage taken from several NFU programmes and archival sources. The nostalgia is doubled as bowtie-wearing presenter Bernard Kearns presents footage alongside interviews with elderly gents and ladies who reminisce about the good old days. This edition focuses on the opening decades of the 20th century; things take a dark turn when Kearns discusses World War I and provides alarming statistics of loss of life. The Years Back - The Twentieth Century 12 Feb- Television, 1973 * Actor Bernard Kearns presents a survey of NZ life in the 30s in this episode of the National Film Unit series The Years Back. 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