More than 600,000 Fijians are expected to benefit from essential health equipment received by the health ministry through a partnership between USAID and UNICEF.
The equipment includes items such as vaccine refrigerators, GeneXpert machines, tents, temperature loggers and swabs as well as personal protective equipment such as gloves, gowns, and aprons.
Health Minister Dr. Ifereimi Waqainabete says Fiji is currently on the road to social, health and economic recovery after COVID-19 and they acknowledge this generous support, for without it, we would not be travelling this recovery path.
He adds these will be distributed to all health care facilities around the country which will, in a way, contribute to the improvement of health care for Fijians.
The U.S. Embassy Suva Deputy Chief of Mission, Rebecca Owen says the United States is proud of the partnership they have built with the Ministry of Health to respond to COVID-19 in Fiji.
Owen says they believe that this collaboration was critical to the efforts to combat COVID-19 and will pave the way to building a stronger, more resilient nation that is ready to face future challenges.
UNICEF Pacific Representative Jonathan Veitch highlighted that proper storage of COVID-19 vaccines enables a longer shelf-life, so UNICEF is pleased to partner with the United States Government to fill this gap.
