Health Transformation Summit underway to map out direction for Fiji’s health system through to 2050

Fiji’s first-ever Health Transformation Summit is underway in Lami, bringing together national and international stakeholders to map out a new direction for the country’s health system through to 2050.

The three-day summit at the Novotel Conference Room aims to redefine Fiji’s health priorities by using new data, recent sector reviews and findings from multiple studies to guide a major overhaul of the nation’s health services.

Minister for Health, Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu says extensive work has been carried out in recent years, including the World Bank’s health sector review commissioned through the Ministry of Finance, further data gathering, and the Ministry’s own evaluation of the last four strategic plans spanning the past 16 years.

Dr Lalabalavu says the purpose of assessing past strategic plans was to determine how effective they were in delivering real outcomes on the ground.

The data, he says, shows that despite substantial investment, the impact has not matched the funding, revealing gaps that must now be addressed collectively.

Dr Lalabalavu says this is why the summit brings together government agencies, private sector partners, donor agencies, faith-based organisations, representatives of the vanua and other key groups, ensuring everyone begins discussions with equal access to information and a shared understanding of current challenges.

He says the goal is to create a new five-year strategic plan beginning next year, along with a long-term health roadmap to 2050 that introduces new ways of delivering services, strengthens systems, and ensures inclusivity across all levels of healthcare.

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Dr Lalabalavu also highlighted several major initiatives aligned with the transformation agenda, including the soon-to-be-launched Pacific Healthy Islands Transformation Project funded by the World Bank, ADB and OPEC.

The project will support improvements to Fiji’s overall health system and contribute to regional health development.

Other developments include the upcoming super-speciality hospital donated by the Government of India, the KOICA Rehabilitation Hospital, and ongoing Ministry programmes to upgrade health facilities, equipment and medicine supplies.

He stressed that human resources remain central to health service delivery, and improving working conditions and role clarity will be critical in supporting the sector’s transformation.