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Field Ready has been working hard to address several urgent epidemic responses (health and water/sanitation) in the region. Here are a couple updates:
Handwashing Station locally made design for Samoa – response to measles epidemic
Field Ready worked at the Fiji hub makerspace on designing and improving models of Handwashing Stations: a permanent foot-operated model for health facilities; a semi-permanent one for places where there is no piped water; and a fully portable temporary one for situations of evacuation or displaced populations in times of disaster.
The permanent and semi-permanent designs will be used in the Samoa health facilities after the recent measles epidemic, as well as some trial sites in schools.
Field Ready engineers Krishneel Singh and Bryn John will be travelling to Samoa in March to manufacture and install these in cooperation with UNICEF, the Samoa Ministry of Health and the National University of Samoa. They will also train local technicians to manufacture and install them.
Operation Tarova (“Stop It”) – response to typhoid outbreak
With Funding from USAID/OFDA and UNICEF, we continued our support to the Fijian Ministry of Health & Medical Services to improve sanitation in the country. We successfully completed installation of 50 of our latrine design in five villages in the rural area of Naitasiri province (in the eastern portion of Liti-Levu, Fiji’s main island).
This latrine is unique in that it was locally designed and made in Fiji. Using our standard processes, the features ideally suit the context found in the region (it is particularly robust) and was co-created with its end users. The final products were mass produced in conjunction with Rotomould Fiji, demonstrating a special public-private partnership.
As part of this effort, our Pacific Regional Lead, Luke Johnston, travelled to the towns of Lautoka and Ba to visit the factories of Rotomould Fiji Limited and Nagan Engineering who will be manufacturing the production moulds for the final design improved latrine. We are sending an engineering team to Nagan Engineering factory at Ba next week to assist in final technical details to enable manufacture of these in Fiji.
This installation assists over 250 people to have clean and sanitary latrine facilities and prevent further outbreaks of typhoid and other waterborne diseases. With further support, it will be replicated and supplied throughout the region and beyond.
