More Fijians are gaining access to vital healthcare services as a partnership between Fiji Airways and Cure Kids Fiji helps doctors and specialists reach communities across the country, with 819 people, including 716 pregnant mothers and 103 children, benefiting from healthcare programmes supported by the initiative.
The partnership is helping bridge critical healthcare gaps across Fiji by enabling doctors, researchers and specialists to reach communities where their expertise is needed most.
Fiji Airways says that since the partnership began, they have supported 41 flight sectors, including 30 domestic and 11 international sectors, enabling healthcare professionals to deliver vital child health programmes, specialist training and research from urban centres to remote maritime communities.
They say the initiatives have included antenatal health programmes and rheumatic heart disease screening programmes.
Fiji Airways Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Paul Scurrah says the partnership reflects the airline’s commitment to supporting communities across Fiji.
Scurrah says in a country of scattered islands, air travel is a lifeline, not a luxury.
He says through their partnership with Cure Kids Fiji, they are using that lifeline to help bring life-saving care closer to the children who need it.
One example of the partnership's impact came during a community health screening event at the Accor Hotels Sports Day in Nadi, where Cure Kids Fiji and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services Western Division screening team offered free heart screening to families attending.
Fiji Airways says a pediatrician was able to reach Nadi from Labasa Hospital to support the outreach, with 103 children screened on the day.
Cure Kids Fiji Country Manager Dr Jimaima Kailawadoko-Matanaicake says the event captured the partnership's impact in practical terms.
Dr Kailawadoko-Matanaicake says something as simple as providing transport can completely change a child's future.
She says when organisations partner with the health sector, they are not just helping people travel, they are helping children access life-changing healthcare.
With Fiji Airways’ support, Cure Kids Fiji is strengthening key national health programmes, including rheumatic heart disease prevention and screening, the Fiji Antenatal Study, Strep A Vaccine Global Consortium research, the Fiji Oxygen Program, and climate and respiratory health initiatives.
Travel support has also enabled Cure Kids Fiji programme teams to reach remote locations such as Vanua Balavu, where critical health infrastructure upgrades, including the installation and commissioning of a solar-powered system at Lomaloma Subdivisional Hospital, are helping strengthen healthcare delivery in vulnerable communities.
The partnership has also supported the development of local healthcare capability, including enabling medical officers from Labasa Hospital to travel to Suva for specialised echocardiography training.
This has strengthened diagnostic capacity in the Northern Division, allowing children identified through screening programmes to be assessed more quickly and closer to home.
In addition, six international specialists have travelled to Fiji to share expertise, deliver clinical training and support research initiatives, helping strengthen Fiji’s healthcare workforce and long-term capability.
Looking ahead, the partnership will continue supporting rheumatic heart disease screening, specialist workforce training, Strep A vaccine research, and initiatives focused on strengthening healthcare systems and improving outcomes for children across Fiji.
