The Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific have signed a donor agreement to strengthen the capacity of health workers in Fiji to better manage noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) through the Pacific Open Learning Health Net.
KOFIH President Dr Il-soo Ha and WHO Regional Director Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala participated in the signing ceremony in Seoul today as the Western Pacific Region and the world marked Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day.
Pacific island countries (PICs) are experiencing an increasing burden of NCDs, in part due to rapid population ageing and lifestyle changes. But PICs face significant challenges in delivering optimal health services due to an insufficient health workforce with limited access to the training necessary, as well as challenging geography given scattered archipelagos with remote populations.
In response, KOFIH is collaborating with the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific to implement a digital health education and training programme for NCDs management via the Pacific Open Learning Health Net (POLHN).
POLHN, established in 2003 by the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, is an online distance learning and lifelong education platform that provides tailored continuing education for health workers in PICs. POLHN was briefly suspended in 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, before being relaunched this year as a dedicated learning space housed within the WHO Academy online learning platform, in response to numerous requests from Pacific island countries.
Through today’s agreement, the two organizations aim to strengthen the NCDs management capacity of Fiji’s health workforce, thereby contributing to sustainable health workforce development in PICs, ultimately supporting efforts to achieve universal health coverage.
Key areas of cooperation include the development of two online training modules on chronic diseases for health workers and support for strengthening the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accreditation system.
In addition, the organizations plan to expand the fellowship program to support nurses and health professionals in pursuing postgraduate studies in NCDs.
“Through this agreement, we expect to contribute to strengthening Pacific island countries’ capacity to respond better to NCDs, and to establish a sustainable health workforce development system by building a strong foundation in digital health education,” noted KOFIH President Ha.
“The WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific places immense value on our partnership with KOFIH,” said Regional Director Dr Piukala. “This agreement – notably being signed on UHC Day – is a genuine milestone to further solidify our joint efforts to advance universal health coverage in Pacific island countries.”
Going forward, both organizations will continue to implement follow-up actions based on this agreement, including ways to strengthen POLHN as a whole, as well as fostering and strengthening international health cooperation networks.
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About KOFIH:
The Korea Foundation for International Healthcare is a leading organization dedicated to healthcare assistance to developing countries. Through specialized and systematic healthcare support, KOFIH aims to realize universal health coverage and establish itself as an organization specialized in development cooperation and global health.
About WHO in the Western Pacific:
WHO in the Western Pacific serves 38 countries and areas encompassing over 2.2 billion people, over a quarter of the world’s population. Specific regional priorities are spelt out in Weaving Health for Families, Communities and Societies in the Western Pacific Region (2025-2029). The overarching mission is to achieve universal health coverage and get the Western Pacific Region back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – especially in the areas where the Region has stalled.