Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete believes community effort is needed to battle typhoid and dengue fever in Fiji.

 

Dr Waqainabete made the comment at a community outreach in Saru village in Ba today.

 

He told villagers that any breeding spot for vectors risked the lives of all people in the community irrespective of whether all homes had clean surroundings.

 

Waqainabete reminded people that their weakest link was their weakest spot in the fight against diseases such as dengue fever and typhoid.

 

He said to address Communicable Diseases, people need to develop cleanliness, proper sanitation, and hygiene while Non-Communicable Diseases could be addressed if people avoided the intake of toxins, exempted themselves from unhealthy practices and exercised regularly.

 

"People need to live their lives fully in order to fulfil their purpose and it is medically recognised that those dying before 70 die prematurely," 

 

"As Fijians, we are used to communal work and we can approach healthy living communally like training in groups or in a community which is not bad at all."

 

He also encouraged villagers to get their booster shots adding they protected individuals from variants and sub-variants of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

By Romeka Romena