Lupus Group gives hope to people afflicted with chronic disease
The Lupus Foundation in Fiji will serve as a beacon of hope for those living with the dreaded Lupus disease.
Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body and it strikes women of childbearing age, 15 to 44 years old. The Lupus Foundation of Fiji (LFF) is a not-for-profit organisation committed to assisting patients and survivors of this terrible ‘Auto-Immune Disease’, by providing access to information and the services they provide as an NGO. The first launch for LFF in the Western Division was held at the Novotel Nadi on Friday evening. Lupus Foundation Fiji founder Una Tuitubou said the foundation had embarked on a 15-year plan for a research hospital by the year 2030. “We will start a Research Hospital in the year 2030. We have got like a 15-year plan for this hospital. So, we will start with just the general hospital. And then we’re hoping that between five to 10 years later we can go into research,” Ms Tuitubou said.
“And that just expands on from there in the hope that we are not only here towards patients with autoimmune disease, but we are hopeful that this will also be a specialised trauma and burn hospitals. “We do not have those in our country yet but I’m hoping we will be able to facilitate that into this research institute.”
Ms Tuitubou said they were thankful that the LFF 15-year plan had reached Government level. Furthermore, she said part of their role was to conduct research and advocacy.
Also to educate and improve the quality of life for all people afflicted with ‘Lupus’ in our nation, she added.