Australian Government Hands Over Newly Refurbished Ono-i-Lau Health Centre

13 December 2011

Counsellor for the Australian Aid Agency (AusAID), Ms Sarah Goulding, today handed over the newly refurbished Ono-i-Lau Health Centre to the Ministry of Health and the community of Ono-i-Lau.

The Ono-i-Lau Health Centre which was badly damaged during Cyclone Tomas in 2010 had repair work carried out on the main health centre building and doctors’ living quarters. The Australian Government, through the Australian Aid Agency, funded the refurbishment work which took 3 months to complete. This support was part of a F$4m post Cyclone Tomas package of assistance to the people of Fiji. Assistance was provided to the Health, Education, and Agriculture sectors.

“Small-scale but high-frequency events such as Fiji’s annual cyclone season can cumulatively cause more damage than large events. While post Cyclone Tomas damage to health facilities is regrettable, the Australian Government through the Australian Aid Agency is pleased to have been able to assist the Ministry of Health with this project to further enhance health services to the deserving people of Ono-i-Lau,” said the AusAID Counsellor.

“The Australian Government recognises that disasters are most likely to affect vulnerable populations. Ensuring these populations are able to withstand the deadly impacts of disasters like tropical cyclones and floods is a priority of the Australian Aid Program.”

As part of Australia’s ‘Build Back Better’ policy, it was crucial that the work carried out on the Ono-i-Lau Health Centre would enable it to withstand the effects of future natural disasters. Australian assistance enabled much needed repairs and reinforcement work to be carried out on the main health centre building, doctors’ quarters and also included the provision of two 10,000 litre water tanks. It is anticipated that the newly refurbished facility will provide consistent and quality health services to the people of Ono-i-Lau.

Ms. Sarah Goulding said that health is at the core of the Millennium Development Goals and improving health has always been a key objective of Australia’s development assistance.

“The Australian Government remains committed to working collaboratively with the Fiji Ministry of Health in furthering positive health outcomes that will benefit and improve the lives of the Fijian people”.

**ENDS**