Lau susuga i le Ta’ita’i o le Sauniga, Susuga i le Toeaina Efu Efu
Afifio Minisita o le Kapeneta;
Minisita Lagolago o le Matagaluega o le Soifua Maloloina;
Susu le Hai Komesina o Niu Sila, H.E. Si’alei Van Toor;
Susu le Hai Komesina o Ausetalia, H.E. Will Robinson;
Susu le Amapasa o Saina, H.E. Fei Mingxing;
Susu Sui ole Faalapotopotoga o le Soifua Maloloina ole Lalolagi;
Susu Ofisa Sili o Matagaluega a le Malo ua mafai ona auai mai i lenei taeao;
Afifio le Komiti Faatonu o le Faalapotopotoga Fa’avae Tau Fatuga’o Samoa;
Susu susuga i alii ma tama’ita’i foma’i i so’o se Fa’alapotopotoga tumaoti po’o
Vaega Eseese o le Matagaluega ole Soifua Maloloina ua outou galulue ma
auauna ai i totonu o Samoa;
Le mamalu o le aufaigaluega Sinia ale Matagaluega o le Soifua Maloloina;
Ma le mamalu o le Au vala’aulia ua mafai ona fa’atasi mai i lenei taeao:
O lea ua goga i tafa’ilagi le malamalama, ae utu i atululuga ma laufanua o si o tatou atunu’u le taulaumea. Fa’afetai ile Atua i lona agalelei ma lana pule fa’asoifua, sa auali’itia ai le soifua o le atunu’u i le uta male tai, aemaise le tapua’iga mau i maota ma laoa. Lea ua tau le ‘ai, ma to’a i matagofie le folauga a Samoa i le amataga o lenei aso. Ua fa’amalo le folau, ua fa’amalo le lava papale. Ua fa’amalo le onosa’i ma le tauata’i i outou faiva ma tiute eseese sa outou galulue ai, o lenei ua tu’ua lava, ae outou afifio mai, susu mai ma maliu mai, tatou te molimauina fa’atasi le taua ma le aoga o lenei polokalame o le Fonotaga lona 2 faale-tausaga a le Faalapotopotoga Fa’avae Tau Fatuga’o Samoa i lenei taeao.
Avea ai a’u ma sui ole afioga ile Tama’itai Palemia, mamalu o le Kapeneta ma Sui Usufono uma ole Palemene o Samoa, ae tainane le tapuaiga mamalu ale afioga ile Ao Mamalu ole Malo o Samoa ma le Masiofo, le afio o le Sui ole Fono a Sui Tofia, ma le mamalu o Samoa atoa, ou te tatalaina aloaia ai le Fonotaga Fa’avaomalo lona 2, i mataupu tau i Fatuga’o i lenei taeao i Tiafau nei.
I le tausaga talu ai, sa fa’ailoa ai e le afioga ile Tamaita’i Palemia ile fonotaga a Ta’ita’i o Malo o le Lalolagi, le fa’atauaina tele e Samoa ma isi atunu’u o le Pasefika o a’afiaga o Fa’ama’i lē pipisi ma fa’ama’i tau fatuga’o.
O a’afiaga tumau o fa’ama’i lē pipisi, ua sili atu lona tugā i le soifua maloloina o tagata nai lo fa’ama’i pipisi. Mo Samoa, e tusa ma le afa o tagata maliliu, e mafua mai i gasegase lē pipisis; ua maliliu o lo o laiti pea tausaga o le soifua. Ua maitauina fo’i ua maualuga tele le fuainumera o tagata ua maua ile tino puta tele, aemaise lava ile fanau iti.
E ui ina ua iai se tulaga fa’aitiitia o tagata e tagofia le ava malosi ma le ulaula tapa’a, ma si’itia le tulaga ole fa’amalosi tino, ‘ae pagā lea, ua leai se fa’aitiitia o tagata ua ‘a’fia i le Fa’ama’i lē pipisi ‘ae maise le malosi ma mea tau tamaoaiga e le gata i tupe fa’aalu a le Mālo ‘ae fa’apea fo’i i tagata ta’ito’atasi ma aiga.
O fa’amaumauga a le Fa’alapopotoga o le Fatuga’o, o le a outou silasila ma fa’afofoga iai i sona fa’alautelega, ua mautinoa ai le tele o tupe e fa’aalu ona o fa’ama’i tau fatuga’o. I le tausaga fa’aletupe 2005/2006, e T3,000,000.00 le foa’i a le Malo mo le fa’atinoina o le fa’amama toto mo gasegase e 16. I le tausaga 2022/2023, ua T9,329,934.00 tupe a le Mālo, a e 250 tagata sa tu’u atu iai le auaunaga fa’amama toto fa’apea ma nisi tagata Samoa asiasi mai fafo. E le o aofia atu i ia vaega tupe le maua ‘ona ua le faigaluega, pe fa’aalu ‘ona o le tausiga o gasegase.
O Fuafuaga mo le Atina’eina o Samoa, 2019 – 2025, ua matua fa’atauaina ai e le Mālo auaunaga fa’apitoa mo le fa’aitiitia o Fa’ama’i lē pipisi.
O lo o iai fo’i “Ta’iala mo Faiga Fa’avae mo Fa’ama’i lē Pipisi a Samoa”, 2019 – 2023 e fa’atautaia e le Matagaluega o le Soifua Maloloina. O nei Faiga Fa’avae ua tatau ona toe iloiloina ma fa’afou ‘ona ua muta tausaga o lona fa’aaogaina.
I le masina o Me 2020, sa fa’avaeina ai se Polokalame sa fuafua e fa’amalosia ma fa’aleleia ai auaunaga fa’alesoifua maloloina ma le silafia ma le usita’ia o fa’aeteetega o fa’amai le pipisi. O lenei polokalame sa tatou faia fa’atasi ma le lagolago malosi o a tatou pa’aga masani mo le atina’eina o si o tatou atunu’u.
E momoli le fa’amalo ile Fa’alapotopotoga tau Fatuga’o, Matagaluega Feagai a le Malo, o pa’aga uma ua tatou fa’atasi i lenei aso, ona o le lelei o se auaunaga fa’amama toto o lo o tu’uina atu mo nai o tatou tagata.
‘Ae o se manatu maualuga, e le o taitai lava se taumafaiga a le Mālo, aemaise le Auaunaga Fa’alesoifua Maloloina, e fa’aitiitia ai le fa’atupulaia pea o Fa’ama’i lē Pipisi i totonu o Samoa.
Ua tatau ai nei ona toe silasila toto’a i a tatou faiga fa’avae ma metotia mo le tineia o nei fa’ama’i ma e talitonu o se aoga tele lena o lenei Fonotaga. Ia iloilo ai ni a’oa’oga taua sa maua mai ile 4 tausaga talu ai I lalo o le “Faiga Fa’avae Mo Fa’ama’i le Pipisi, 2019 – 2023” ina ia fa’amautu ai ni metotia fou ma ni suiga auā le tali atu ai i nei fa’ama’i.
O se fa’amatalaga lenei sa tu’uina atu e le afioga ile Palemia o Samoa ile fonotaga a le Fa’alapotopotoga o Malo Aufa’atasi ile tausaga talu ai.
“Mo le tau fo’ia o le fa’atupulaia o a’afiaga o Fa’ama’i lē Pipisi, e tatau ile Mālo ona una’ia le maua o avanoa o tagata uma e tausami ai taumafa e paleni lelei mo le soifua maloloina. E tatau ona una’ia le fa’aaogaina o tausami e maua i Samoa ae le o mea’ai so’ona fai ua fa’atauina mai atunu’u mamao. E telē le fa’aitiitia o Fa’ama’i le Pipisi, pe a tausami mo le soifuamaloloina, fa’amalositino, ma suia mafaufauga ma le naunau i mea e leaga ai le fatuga’o. E mo’omia fo’i le o fa’atasi ma le tu’uina atu o fesoasoani tau tupe ma ni metotia aoga e fa’atupula’ia ai le tomai ma le usita’ia i auaunaga ma fautuaga tau le soifua maloloina”
O lenei fa’amatalaga ua fa’amautu ai le naunauga a le atunu’u atoa mo le taumafaiga ina ia maua tausami paleni atoatoa ma felesi, o mea’ai e maua lava i Samoa, ae fa’aitiitia le tatou fa’alagolago i mea’ai fa’atau mai fafo e mama’i ai ma alu ai tupe maua.
E fa’amautuina ai fo’i lo tatou naunauta’iga mo ni suiga fa’alemafaufauga ma le fa’aleolaga, ‘aua le malosi fa’aauauina ma le soifualaulelei. E le o se manatu fou fo’i, ona sa saunoa iai le Fa’atonusili o le Soifua Maloloina ile fa’atomuaga o le “Ta’iala mo Faiga Fa’avae mo Fa’ama’i le Pipisi” e fa’apea: “E le faigofie ona faia suiga i mea ua masani ai le olaga” ma “’ua tatau ai ona tatou galulue fa’atasi ma le fe’oe’eoa’i e suia ma fa’afouina a tatou metotia ma gaioiga fou e tali atu ai i a’afiaga oga’oga o fa’ama’i lē pipisi”. Sa ia taua fo’i e “taua le aofia ai o aafiaga o le mafaufau ma isi a’afiaga tumau o le tino, pe a talanoaina ma fa’atino le atina’eina o nei fuafu’aga, e aofia ai ma ni fa’amaumauga lelei e iloa ai le aga’i i luma o le taumafai pe leai.
I le tausaga 2022, sa lomia ai e se tasi o foma’i sinia se tusitusiga ile “toe fetu’una’iga o mafaufauga ma le fa’atulagaina o galuega Soifua Maloloina Lautele” mo Samoa, ma ia molimauina ai e fa’apea: Ua avea le fa’aitiitia ma le fa’atuatuan’i i galuega tau ile puipuiga i totonu o nu’u ma alalafaga I tausaga ‘ua tea, ma se isi o mafua’aga taua o le fa’atupulaia o fa’ama’i lē pipisi ua tatou molimauina nei.
I le tusitusiga lava lea a le afioga Toleafoa Dr. Viali Lameko, sa ia fautuaina ai le tatau ona fa’atauaina e le Matagaluega o le Soifua Maloloina: muamua, polokalame fa’alea’oaa’oga (e lē na o le fa’ailoa) mo nu’u ma aoga; lua, fa’atino su’esu’ega fa’alesoifua maloloina e vave maua ai ē ua a’afia; tolu, fautuaina le faia ma fa’atino o tulafono ma faiga fa’avae e fa’aitiitia ai le fa’atupulaia o fa’ama’i lē pipisi ma ona a’afiaga. O se tasi o ia Tulafono o le Tulafono o Meataumafa 2015, lea e mafai ai ona aiaia tulaga e puipuia ai le soifua maloloina mai mea’ai fa’atupu gasegase ma puapuaga, ia e fa’atau mai fafo pe gaosia fo’i i Samoa. Ua tatau i Matagaluega o lo‘o gafa ma ia Tulafono ma Faiga Fa’avae le tilotilo toto’a i lo latou fa’atinoina pe o fa’amaoni pe leai.
E le gata la i ia la’asaga ma tatou lava galuega fai, e tatau fo’i ona fuafa’atatau a tatou fuafuaaga i maliliega Fa’avaomalo ua aofia ai Samoa mo le fa’aitiitia o fa’ama’i lē pipisi, ‘aua o ‘i e maua mai ai fesoasoani mo’omia.
Taua le tagataga’i i Fuafuaga a Ta’ita’i o Malo o le Pasefika mo le 2050, fa’apea ma le maliliega a Malo ‘Aufa’atasi mo atunu’u laiti e pei o na fa’atasi atu ai le Palemia ma le Usugafono a Samoa i le Masia o Me.
E lea maliega mo Atunu’u Laiti, sa fa’ai’ugafono ai e fa’apea; I le tasi o itu, o a’afiaga tau soifua maloloina, soifuaga lautele ma isi a’afiaga tugā, ua matua mamafa ma alu i luga a’afiaga o atunuu laiti; a’o le isi itu, ua fa’aitiitia ma alu i lalo le malosi i nei atunu’u laiti e tali atu i ia a’afiaga. O le fa’apopolega fo’i lea i le Mālo ma Ta’ita’i, ‘ona o uiga va’aia fo’i ia ua maitauina ile Pasefika ma si o tatou atunu’u.
Mo le aga’i atu ile lumana’i, o suiga uma e tatou te fa’atinoina, e lē tatau ona avea nei suiga ma mea e atili ai ona fa’aitiitia le malosi e tali atu ai o tatou tagata, aemaise nu’u ma afio’aga, i a’afiaga tau ile soifua maloloina, eleele, fa’atoaga, sami, o aganu’u ma le oia o tulaga i pulega fa’alenu’u.
Mo lenei Fonotaga ma le avanoa tu’uina mai, ou te tatalo ina ia avea le fa’alaeiau fa’aleagaga mai le susuga ile Toeina, fa’apea sa’u nei tu’ualalo, e fa’amalosiau atu ai ia outou felafolafoa’iga, ni mafaufauga lelei ma ni fuafuaga e tali atu ai i a’afiaga ogaoga o fa’ama’i lē pipisi ma fa’ama’i tau fatuga’o.
I fuafuaga alualu mamao a le Mālo ma Malō Aufa’atasi, o lo o tu’ufa’atasia ai Fa’ama’i lē pipisi ma le Soifua Maloloina o le mafaufau. O se manatu sa fa’aalia mai e ali’i foma’i ma le Fa’atonusili Aoao o le Soifua Maloloina talu ai, lea o lo o ta’ua i luga, e tatau ona tatou silasila ile so’otaga o mafaufauga, suiga mo’omia o le olaga ma suiga fou e mo’omia mo le fa’aitiitia o Fa’ama’i le Pipisi ma le soifua maloloina o fatuga’o. ‘Ae se’i tagataga’i i ai le Fonotaga pe le o se itu taua lea mo ni faiga ma metotia fou.
Ou te fa’apea atu ai, ua tatala aloa’ia ai nei le Fonotaga Faavao-Malo Lona 2 i Mataupu Tau Fatuga’o. Ia manuia tele la outou fonotaga i lenei taeao.
Soifua ma ia manuia !!
KEYNOTE SPEECH – HON. ACTING PRIME MINISTER/ ACTING MINISTER OF MINISTRY OF HEALTH HON. TUALA TEVAGA IOSEFO PONIFASIO 2ND BIANNUAL SAMOA KIDNEY CONFERENCE
“ADVANCING EQUITABLE ACCESS TO KIDNEY CARE FOR ALL”
Reverend Elder Efu Efu;
Honorable Ministers of the Cabinet
Honorable Associate Ministers of the Ministry of Health;
H.E. Si’alei Van Toor, NZ High Commissioner
H.E. William Robinson, Aust High Commissioner
H.E. Fei Mingxing, Chinese Ambassador
Representatives of the World Health Organisation
Chairman NKF Board of Directors;
Distinguished Presenters and Panelists, especially the Medical Professionals
and Experts from Overseas and from Samoa;
Distinguished Guests and Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen
As the Acting Prime Minister and Acting Minister of Health, I am very pleased to give this keynote address here at the opening of the Second Biennial Samoa Kidney Conference.
Last year at the United Nations, the Prime Minister informed the International Community that Non-Communicable Diseases including kidney diseases, was a high priority area for Samoa and the Pacific.
Chronic NCDs have overtaken communicable diseases as our major health problem, and the leading cause of mortality, morbidity and disability. In our nation, NCDs account for almost half of the deaths. In other words, almost half of our people who have passed on have departed this life prematurely. And we now have one of the highest obesity rates, particularly among children.
While data is showing some positive trends in the prevalence rates of alcohol use, smoking and physical activity, we need to focus a lot more attention on the rising burden of NCDs, in our people’s lives, and on our resources.
Data on the rise in the cost of kidney diseases, which National Kidney Foundation will elaborate on after morning tea, indicates a jump from 16 patients and 3 million Tala in 2004; to 9.3 million Tala in 2022/23 for 250 local patients and 525 treatments for 101 visitors. That’s not including the enormous cost and the suffering experienced by the patients and their families.
The Government of Samoa has therefore made, ‘people-centered’ health services and NCD control a priority in our National Pathway and Development 2019-2025. We also have the National NCD Policy 2019-2023 under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. The policy has expired and needs to be urgently reviewed and updated.
With support from our development partners, a comprehensive program was launched in May 2020 with the aim of building a people-centered and systematic NCD service, to strengthen primary health care, empower communities, promote early detection and effective referral of NCDs, and increase population awareness of NCD risk factors.
I commend the Samoa Kidney Foundation, our government, partner ministries and all our partners here today, for the excellent dialysis service provided to our patients and visitors. But it’s been a while since we set out, as government and as the health sector, to reduce the incidence of NCDs and kidney failures; and we’re not making any headway in this area.
It’s time we get serious about changing our approach on disease prevention and reduction, and this Conference is a great opportunity to look at any lessons we’ve learned over the last four years under the NCD Policy, on What and How we can all make the necessary changes to the way we’re dealing with NCDs.
This is what our Prime Minster told the UN and the International Community last year:
“To help address the rising burden of non-Communicable diseases, we believe that access to a balanced and nutritional diet is a national priority. It is important to return to locally produced quality fresh foods with less reliance on processed imported foods. Nutrition and exercise in combination with other lifestyle changes will do more to curb NCDs but these efforts must be enhanced by financial support for advocacy and capacity building of our health and education professionals”
The statement commits us as a country to accessing a balanced and nutritional diet through the production and consumption of locally produced quality fresh foods on one hand and, on the other hand, reducing our dependence on and intake of imported processed foods.
It also commits us to lifestyle or behavioral changes to sustain health benefits and vitality we may gain from improved nutrition and mobility. This is not a new idea, in fact, in the Foreword of our existing NCD National Policy, the Director General of MOH at the time warned that it “is not easy to change grounded behaviors”; and that “we all need to strengthen our concerted efforts to be more creative and do things differently to tackle NCD”. He also stated that “mental health and disability inclusiveness are” or should be “given priority during this developmental phase” of our approach, including the use of localized SDG indicators to measure results.
In 2022, one of our senior doctors, whom I see on the program, published a paper on “rethinking the health public health system” in Samoa and the need for “new perspectives”. He suggested a causal link between “cutting back community-based preventative programs over the past few decades” and the rise in the incidence NCDs and mortality rates we’re now facing.
Dr Lameko’s paper “proposes that the health system should prioritize health education programs in community and schools, conduct diagnostic screening programs, and advocate for laws and policies that directly address endemic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Samoa”. The Food Act of 2015 is an example of a law that can directly and effectively address the risk factors of NCDs so we need to find out what we need to do to implement it with some diligence.
Apart from our laws, policies, plans and approaches, I cannot emphasize more the need to link our efforts with the commitments for addressing NCDs and other global crises we have made under the 2050 Strategy of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders and the successor agreement on SIDS at the recent UN International Conference on Small Islands States, which our Prime Minister attended with other SIDS leaders from around the world.
The new SIDS agreement concluded that the impacts of health, social and other global crises we’re facing are “unrelenting compounding” while, on the other hand, our ability as Small Island States to withstand them and build resilience by ourselves is “progressively” deteriorating. Our Govts and Leaders are concerned that this is what we’re seeing in the Pacific and Samoa.
Moving forward, we need to ensure that the institutional changes we are making and planning in health, land, agriculture, sports and culture, and community/village governance, serve to consolidate and not dissipate our capacities and capabilities to deal with the health, social, economic and environmental crises we are facing today and into the foreseeable future.
For your Conference, I see you have at the end of today, a Plenary and Provocative Panel Discussion which I hope, with the spiritual guidance received this morning from Reverend Elder and my own message of encouragement, will help stimulate robust discussion on Why and How we must do things differently with NCDs and Kidney Diseases. NCDs is combined with Mental Health under the SDGs and as alluded to by medical doctors and a former Director General of Health, we probably need to explore further the link between mindsets, behavioral change, and new approaches to NCDs and kidney health care.
With these remarks, I now declare the opening of “The 2nd Biannual Samoa Kidney Conference.”
I wish you all a very successful and a fruitful conference. I also wish all the visiting experts and partners a very good stay in Samoa.
Soifua ma ia manuia !!
