The Asian Development Bank has approved a $50 million concessional loan to support a major transformation of Fiji’s health system, strengthening primary care, modernizing digital systems, and tackling non-communicable diseases.
Aligned with Fiji’s Digital Health Strategy 2023–2027, the project will enable real-time digital clinical support for health workers and upgrade health information systems to improve coordinated diagnostics and patient management.
It will also finance the first phase of a new regional referral hospital and training facility at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital, including modern medical equipment and expanded training capacity.
Regional Director of ADB’s Pacific Subregional Office, Azusa Sato says this project is groundbreaking, as it enables ADB and the World Bank to efficiently combine financing and expertise to deliver long-term regional health resilience.
Sato says Fiji plays a critical regional role in training health professionals and delivering specialist services across the Pacific.
The ADB says by modernizing primary care, investing in digital connectivity, and strengthening the regional referral hospital, the project reinforces Fiji’s role as a Pacific health hub.
The ADB says the loan is part of the $181.94 million total financing package for the Pacific Healthy Islands Transformation Project, the first in the Pacific to be cofinanced under the newly established Full Mutual Reliance Framework.
The financing includes $93.50 million from the World Bank (lead lender), $30 million from the OPEC Fund for International Development, and $8.44 million from the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response Trust Fund.
The Full Mutual Reliance Framework is an innovative cofinancing arrangement between ADB and the World Bank designed to streamline project preparation, reduce duplication, and deliver faster and more effective development support.
