Pacific News In Brief For 4 August
Samoa media are reporting a fifth child has died from dengue fever.
The country is in the midst of an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease.
Meanwhile, education minister Ae'au Chris Hazelman said all schools will remain closed this week due to the outbreak, including ECE and universities.
"Based on the data provided to us by the Ministry of Health, not only at our national hospital at Moto'otua but all of our district hospitals as well and also the hospital in Savai'i - it is based on those numbers that we have made the decision to close the schools."
Schools were closed last week and a fumigation programme was launched.
Papua New Guinea - cocoa
The province of East Sepik has opened a new trade route, with a shipment of cocoa to Shandong in China.
NBC reported it comes 25 years after Sir Michael Somare forged a sister-province agreement between East Sepik and Shandong.
On the eve of the country's 50th anniversary of independence, the East Sepik Governor, Allan Bird, reflected on this legacy, and praised Sir Michael's foresight.
He said it may be the first export from East Sepik to its sister province.
Bird said not only does it strengthen East Sepik's trade footprint but it's also a symbolic realisation of Sir Michael's diplomatic legacy.
NBC reported business leaders and the community see the announcement as a positive milestone for local industry, hoping it paves the way for more exports and collaboration with China.
Fiji - policing
Fiji's Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua met with the New Zealand Minister for Customs and Associate Minister for Police, Casey Costello, and her delegation in Suva last week.
The Fijian government government said discussions centred on the growing threats of transnational crime and drug trafficking affecting Fiji.
Fiji - charged
A primary school teacher in Fiji has been charged with allegedly beating a young boy with a PVC pipe, injuring his stomach and ear.
fijivillage.com reports that the man entered no plea when he appeared in the Nadi Magistrates Court last week.
He was granted bail and will appear in court again on 9 September.
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Pacific News In Brief For 4 August
Samoa - dengue Samoa media are reporting a fifth child has died from dengue fever. The country is in the midst of an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease. Meanwhile, education minister Ae'au Chris Hazelman said all schools will remain closed this week due to the outbreak, including ECE and universities. "Based on the data provided to us by the Ministry of Health, not only at our national hospital at Moto'otua but all of our district hospitals as well and also the hospital in Savai'i - it is based on those numbers that we have made the decision to close the schools." Schools were closed last week and a fumigation programme was launched. Papua New Guinea - cocoa The province of East Sepik has opened a new trade route, with a shipment of cocoa to Shandong in China. NBC reported it comes 25 years after Sir Michael Somare forged a sister-province agreement between East Sepik and Shandong. On the eve of the country's 50th anniversary of independence, the East Sepik Governor, Allan Bird, reflected on this legacy, and praised Sir Michael's foresight. He said it may be the first export from East Sepik to its sister province. Bird said not only does it strengthen East Sepik's trade footprint but it's also a symbolic realisation of Sir Michael's diplomatic legacy. NBC reported business leaders and the community see the announcement as a positive milestone for local industry, hoping it paves the way for more exports and collaboration with China. Fiji - policing Fiji's Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua met with the New Zealand Minister for Customs and Associate Minister for Police, Casey Costello, and her delegation in Suva last week. The Fijian government government said discussions centred on the growing threats of transnational crime and drug trafficking affecting Fiji. Fiji - charged A primary school teacher in Fiji has been charged with allegedly beating a young boy with a PVC pipe, injuring his stomach and ear. reports that the man entered no plea when he appeared in the Nadi Magistrates Court last week. He was granted bail and will appear in court again on 9 September.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- RNZ News
Travellers to Pacific cautioned against mosquito bites as dengue fever cases soar
Lautoka City Council carrying out anti mosquito spraying after a Dengue Clean Up campaign in April. Photo: Ministry of Health & Medical Services - Fiji Travellers heading to the Pacific are being told to protect themselves from mosquito bites, as cases of dengue fever soar to the highest level in almost a decade. Health New Zealand said Samoa has been particularly affected by the disease, with more than 2000 cases reported since 17 April. Some people have died after becoming infected. Dr Susan Jack said 34 confirmed cases have been reported in Auckland in July alone from people returning from the Pacific. Around half of those cases were acquired in Samoa. In the seven months to the end of July, there have been 103 cases recorded in Auckland, double the amount of the whole of last year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
Pharmacy owners call on Government to take 'urgent' action after baby's death
CAPTION: Bellamere Duncan's parents are calling for a law change that would make it mandatory for medication to be checked by two people before it is dispensed. Photo: 123RF CAPTION: Bellamere Duncan died at Starship Hospital on July 19. Photo: Supplied Pharmacy owners have written to the Government calling for "urgent" action, warning "lives are at stake" following the death of a two-month-old baby after she was allegedly given medication at an adult dosage by a pharmacy. "We owe it to this child - and to every New Zealander - to fix a system that is failing," one pharmacy owner said. It comes after RNZ revealed Bellamere Arwyn Duncan died at Starship Hospital on 19 July . The two-month-old was allegedly given an adult dosage of phosphate by a Manawatū pharmacy. A coroner's preliminary opinion is she died from phosphate toxicity. The revelations have prompted the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand to "urgently" undertake a joint review into the incident with Medsafe visiting the pharmacy to ensure it was safe to continue operating. The Pharmacy Council, which is also investigating, said it's "clear that an awful error has occurred". Bellamere's parents are calling for a law change that would make it mandatory for medication to be checked by two people before it is dispensed. Pharmacist Annabel Turley, owner of in Christchurch, earlier told RNZ the pharmacy workforce was under "immense pressure" , adding both the current government and the last had "been dishing out pharmacy licences like lollies". Turley wrote to several ministers including former Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in October last year. "I write to bring to your urgent attention the critical workforce shortages that are endangering the sustainability of pharmacy services across the country," she said. Turley warned the profession was "at a tipping point". "Pharmacists have been front-line healthcare providers for years, offering critical services such as medication management, vaccinations, and health advice, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many pharmacies are under immense pressure without sufficient staffing, and our ability to maintain these essential services is seriously jeopardised." She called for an "immediate moratorium" on issuing new licences for greenfield pharmacy sites until the workforce situation was addressed. "Opening new pharmacy sites in the current climate only exacerbates the strain on an already overstretched workforce. Without adequate staff, these new pharmacies will struggle to function, and existing pharmacies will be further depleted of resources, spreading our already thin workforce even more thinly." CAPTION: Bellamere Duncan's parents were allegedly given an adult dosage of phosphate by the pharmacy. Photo: Supplied On Thursday, Turley sent another letter to the Prime Minister, Health Minister Simeon Brown and other politicians. In the letter, seen by RNZ, Turley said since her letter the profession had seen "no significant improvement in workforce stability". She said Bellamere Duncan's death was "not an isolated incident". "It is a symptom of a workforce under immense pressure-burned out, short-staffed, and stretched to breaking point. "Pharmacists are no longer able to guarantee safe, consistent care in all circumstances. As one of the few remaining accessible front-line health services in many communities, this is not just a pharmacy problem-it is a public safety issue." Turley said, unless "bold steps are taken", including an immediate halt on new greenfield pharmacy licences, there would be "more preventable tragedies like this one". "We owe it to this child - and to every New Zealander - to fix a system that is failing," she said. "Lives are at stake. Let's not allow another preventable tragedy to occur." Turley welcomed the opportunity to meet with the ministers to discuss solutions "to this crisis". "We all want a pharmacy sector that is safe, sustainable, and resilient-and we need your leadership now more than ever to make that happen." Bellamere Duncan's parents were allegedly given an adult dosage of phosphate by the pharmacy. Photo: Supplied Another pharmacy owner and pharmacist, Anna Hewitt, wrote to Brown, Luxon and other ministers on Wednesday. "Last week, our worst fear took place. A baby lost its life as a direct result of this Crisis. The critical workforce shortage has endangered the sustainability of Pharmacy in NZ and now it is having direct consequences on our Patients." Hewitt said the workforce was "stretched, it is overworked, and close to burnout". "This is not just a workforce issue, it is a Public Health Crisis. Pharmacists and Pharmacies are highly specialized, and the first point of call for many patients who cannot access timely health services. "We dispense and catch prescribing errors, we advise both other health professionals and the public on medication use, we vaccinate, we treat, we prescribe in many cases. But we are not superhuman, we cannot continue like this with no support." Hewitt referenced Turley's letter from last year. "I know firsthand that other Pharmacists from around the country have also written letters to call for action within the sector. These calls have fallen on deaf ears as it seems." She said the Government had added Pharmacists to the immigration green list and opened a new pharmacy school at the University of Waikato, which while they were steps in the right direction, they were "medium- and long-term solutions to a problem which is in immediate crisis". "This isn't just numbers, this isn't just words on a page, this is real lives, real patients, real pharmacists who are desperately trying to hold it together, and care for their patients. The human face of this crisis is Bellamere Arwyn Duncan." Hewitt called for the Government to stop issuing new pharmacy site licences and to look closely at how pharmacies were funded. "We owe it to this beloved child that was lost, we owe it to all New Zealanders, we need to fix a system that is failing." Pharmacists have written to health minister Simeon Brown to voice their concerns. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER On Wednesday, a Ministry of Health spokesperson told RNZ there were a number of investigations underway. "Medsafe has completed an urgent assessment and is comfortable there is no immediate patient safety issue at the pharmacy. Medsafe will continue to work with Health New Zealand and these findings which will inform the information provided to the Coroner. Medsafe is also sharing information with the Pharmacy Council. "Once these reviews are completed, we will be able to look at next steps." Health Minister Simeon Brown told RNZ on Monday he raised the incident with the Director-General of Health as soon as he was made aware. "She assured me that there would be an investigation undertaken by both the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand. That investigation is underway. "I am advised that this incident has led to Medsafe undertaking an urgent assessment of the pharmacy. A further investigation is being undertaken by the Pharmacy Council, and the death is also the subject of a Coroner's inquest." Health agencies would provide information to the coroner as needed to support the inquest. "It is important that the reviews are undertaken, and that the circumstances that led to this incident are understood. I expect that these investigations may propose recommendations, and that these will be reviewed once reports are complete." The Pharmacy Council said it was unable to comment further when asked by RNZ on Monday whether it supported calls for a law change. "Our enquiry and investigation processes are currently underway and, until these are complete, we cannot provide any further details. At the end of the process, we will make any recommended changes to ensure as best as possible an event like this does not happen again." The owner of the Manawatū pharmacy that dispensed the medication said in a statement to RNZ the baby's death was "a tragedy". "Our sympathy is with the family and whānau. This is a very difficult time. "We are looking into what has happened to try to understand how this took place. There will also be external reviews which we will work with." RNZ asked the owner how the medication was given at the wrong dosage, whether they disputed the allegations, when the pharmacy became aware the wrong dosage had been given, and what confidence people could have about other medication received from the pharmacy. The owner said the pharmacy was "devastated about what has happened and are investigating to find out how this occurred". "It is not appropriate to comment further at this stage." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
