Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments

‘RISE (Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments) is an action-research program working at the intersections of health, environment, and water and sanitation. RISE is trialling a new water sensitive approach to water and sanitation management in 24 informal settlements across Makassar, Indonesia and Suva, Fiji.

Working with communities, governments, local leaders and partner institutions, RISE is co-designing location-specific solutions that integrate green infrastructure, such as constructed wetlands, to strengthen the whole-of-life water and sanitation cycle. Underpinned by the emerging discipline of ‘planetary health’, RISE success will be measured by the health and well-being of residents – particularly children under five years of age – and the ecological diversity of the surrounding environment’ https://www.rise-program.org/.

RISE research project is headed by Professor Rebekah Brown, Provost Research at Monash University, and made up of a large, multidisciplinary research team and scientific advisory panel, as well as PhD research candidates. In Fiji, Fiji National University is a partner on this project led by Dr Amelia Turagabeci, Head of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. RISE project in Suva is at the stage where it has completed baseline research and held its randomisation event on 26 November 2019. At this event, Fiji National University, presented on RISE’s sampling activities to-date. Dr Turagabeci explained, ‘because we have been very open with communities from the start of the program, and we need to keep people informed and engaged at every step of the way this transparency is important,’.

The randomisation event was officiated by Professor Brown, Mr Mohammed Maqbool and Mr Sanjeeva Parera from the Ministry of Housing and Community Development, and Ms Sally Waswo from the New Zealand High Commission. The New Zealand High Commission made a contribution of $3.2 million dollars to the project. A random sample of members from 13 informal settlements in Suva were invited to the event and told about the improvements to be made to their settlements for proper sanitation and well-being. Professor Mohini Singh, Pro Vice Chancellor Research welcomed the research team from Monash and from around the world to this event and thanked Monash University for their collaboration with Fiji National University.

She acknowledged the community members for their participation in the project. as well as the project sponsors for their support to the project. For the management of the data collected in Fiji, RISE project has funded a multimillion dollar first of its kind laboratory in Fiji based at the FNU School of Public Health in Tamavua, Suva. This lab was officially opened on 27 November 2019 by Professor Rebekah Brown, Provost Research at Monash University and Professor Mohini Singh, Pro Vice Chancellor Research at FNU. Professor Singh thanked all RISE partners who supported this establishment.