SUVA, FIJI. The Fiji National University (FNU) is committed to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its strategic priority areas through its learning, teaching, and research.

This commitment was demonstrated at the one-day Revitalisation of Informal Settlements and their Environments (RISE) Symposium held at the FNU Nasinu Campus today.

With the theme “Leaving No One Behind: Partnerships for Improving Community Health Through Safely Managed Sanitation for All” the symposium addresses five sustainable areas of priority.

FNU’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning & Teaching, Professor Jimaima Lako said that FNU’s involvement in the RISE programme and its co-hosting of the symposium are closely aligned with the university’s mission.

“Our mission is to serve the people, economy, and society of Fiji and the wider Pacific region by conducting research with real-world impact, aligned with national priorities and global relevance,” Professor Lako said.

“FNU has been a key delivery partner of RISE since its inception in 2017. Led by Monash University in Australia, RISE is a transdisciplinary research programme demonstrating a new approach to informal settlement upgrading through deep community engagement and decentralised infrastructure solutions.

“The community engagement approach has included the initial co-design of infrastructure with residents from thirteen informal settlement communities, ongoing surveying, and sampling of environmental and human health indicators, partnering with FNU for research and sample analysis.”

She added that there are currently fourteen full-time FNU staff members working directly on the RISE programme.

Minister for Housing and Local Government Maciu Nalumisa said that the Coalition Government, through the Ministry of Housing, continues to support RISE Fiji in ensuring that all Fijians have access to adequate, safe, and affordable housing, basic services, and revitalisation of informal settlements in Fiji.

“The Coalition Government, through the Ministry of Housing, is steadfast in its commitment to shaping Fiji’s housing landscape through strategic planning and policy formulation. Funding assistance of $1 million has been approved for the fiscal year 2023-2024, with an additional $1 million in the 2024-2025 budget. These funds will support the RISE programme to enhance access to sanitation services and improve drainage in our informal settlements,” Honourable Nalumisa said.

“The Ministry is also undertaking institutional reform by reviewing the 2011 National Housing Policy to address the complexities of rapid urban growth and facilitate the harmonisation of land development aspects through enhanced forward planning.”

Through the bilateral arrangement, planned interventions for RISE include new rock-lined drainage works, footpaths, boardwalks, and twelve Wetpods across six settlements: Komave, Nauluvatu, Matata, Vunibua, Wailea, and Muanivatu, as well as spot backfilling for waterlogged areas.