27 July 2007

The Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia (FECCA) has become National Prescribing Service Limited’s (NPS) 44th member organisation, announced NPS Chair, Dr Roger Boyd. FECCA is the peak, national body representing and advocating for Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

NPS is a membership based organisation that actively encourages its members to become involved in improving its programs and services. Members include health and consumer organisations with a commitment to Quality Use of Medicines (QUM).

“We have had a long history of cooperation with FECCA and I am delighted that they have accepted NPS’s invitation to join our member organisations,” said Dr Boyd. “This will further cement our already strong relationship and will pave the way for future cooperation.”

NPS and FECCA collaborate to plan and implement programs with multicultural communities to improve their understanding and use of medicines.

NPS brings its understanding of QUM and health promotion principles to the partnership. FECCA contributes their expertise in working with multicultural communities.

“FECCA will work with NPS to ensure the needs of Australians from a culturally and linguistically diverse background are considered in the design and delivery of QUM programs to consumers and health professionals,” said Ms Voula Messimeri, Chair of FECCA. “We provide contact with communities and expert advice to ensure programs are responsive and appropriate.”

NPS has been working with FECCA since 2003 and has implemented several successful joint projects. These include the development of bi-lingual consumer resources, a partnership with SBS to combine talkback radio segments with community service announcements, and to promote QUM at SBS Radio events. Other projects included supporting local community groups to run QUM education sessions.

FECCA and NPS are planning to develop projects with new target groups such as seniors within multicultural communities and Arabic communities.

ENDS