Fiji has one of the highest statistics in the world on domestic violence that has pushed us as a nation to address domestic violence as a matter of national importance across all sectors.
Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa highlighted this while addressing General Practitioners at their Annual Conference today.
Vuniwaqa also pointed out that the health challenges for women and children remains enormous in all countries, including Fiji adding that these challenges have to be viewed across the life-course through interventions in childhood, adolescence, and the reproductive years.
She also congratulated College of General Practitioners on the theme and at the outset state that building a better tomorrow for our women and children is clearly expressed in the Constitution.
Vuniwaqa also stressed that there was no better time to address the General Practitioners than today as it is right after the announcement of the 2018/2019 budget.
General Practitioners are now encouraged to expand their practices into disadvantaged communities with the government footing the costs for the patients that will be seen by them.
Vuniwaqa says this will scale up health coverage, improve access to health services and lessen the financial and physical burden of rural Fijians.
A total of $382M has been allocated to the Health Sector for the 2018/2019 budget.
The launch of the new General Practitioners program will start on 1st January, 2019.
