On behalf of Pacific Dermatology Limited (PDL) and our Chairman, Tim Wills, I would like to thank you and the Mosman Rotary Club, for your generous donation in helping Ian Jackson and our board undertake dermatology training at the Pacific Dermatology Training Centre, aiming to improve the management of skin disease in the Western Pacific region. Although Ian Jackson, after 5 years of work, has pulled back, we still appreciate all the work he did to set up the project and leave it in such a position to be able to move onward.
I still fondly recall, mid-pandemic, the interesting and very supportive meeting we had with you and your Rotary Club discussing Pacific Dermatology and what we were trying to do. During those formative years, any and all support we received was invaluable – not only by directly financing and facilitating our initiatives; but further, perhaps more importantly, by placing your trust and confidence in our mission. We really can’t thank you enough for this support!
With regards to our progress, we are very, very excited that we have received notification from the board of the global society for skin disease, the International League of DermatologicalSocieties (ILDS), that they have agreed to contribute financially to help support the programme over the next eight years, with funding committed for the next four years – pending a yearly review.
This enables us now to strategically develop plans and continue the training, in partnership with Fiji National University, Fiji’s Ministry of Medical and Health Services and a Fiji-based partnering charity, the Pacific Dermatology Trust. This ongoing assistance will provide for the costs of running the programme, allowing us to focus more on regional scholarships and the upgrading of essential equipment, as well as improving clinic space utility.
Thus, Fiji National University through the PDTC, will see the first three Master’s students graduate this year, whilst four more doctors remain in the earlier years of the Master’s programme. The Diploma graduates and current Masters students have come from Fiji, other nations including Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Samoa and Papua New Guinea have had their doctors participate, many to become the first doctor from their countries to have had any post-graduate dermatology instruction. Looking forward, we have had requests from doctors around the Pacific Islands to enrol for 2025 and so we are also hoping for our first Diploma enrolee from Vanuatu!
As a direct result of this training, improved diagnosis and management of dermatological conditions across the Pacific is occurring, where previously there was none or very little. In Fiji currently, 500 patients are seen per week at the Pacific Dermatology Training Centre.
With these doctors already making plans to support each other, they have formed the Pacific Islands Dermatology Society. Therefore, whilst the ILDS funding will provide surety of infrastructure and learning, the resources required for ongoing scholarships, facilities and equipment will continue to help make this a reality.
Once again, thank you for your very generous support of the Pacific Dermatology Training Centre, through our charitable organisation Pacific Dermatology Ltd. This was particularly in the formative years of our project, before we had a track record, and recognise the considerable faith and trust you placed in our hands. We look forward to furthering our work and hopefully continue our progress and improvement in the Pacific.
