Fiji's University Urges Stronger Community Healthcare Resources

The University of Fiji is urging the government to bolster healthcare services within communities, rather than concentrating resources solely in major hospitals. Vice-Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem emphasized that public health challenges, including the non-communicable disease crisis and HIV, extend beyond medical concerns to encompass social issues.

Professor Shameem advocated for a more expansive view of healthcare, calling for greater resource allocation to communities. "Rather than having hospitals in the main centers only or health services in the main centers, this particular proposal and recommendation says that we should consider, the government should consider putting resources out in the communities to a bigger extent than they have now," she stated during submissions to the Standing Committee on the Public Health Amendment Bill.

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So rather than having hospitals in the main centres only or health services in the main centres, this particular proposal and recommendation says that we should consider, the government should consider putting resources out in the communities to a bigger extent than they have now.

Many patients, particularly those in rural areas, struggle to access treatment for chronic conditions like NCDs. Professor Shameem highlighted the impracticality of expecting rural residents to travel long distances for hospital appointments. "You can’t bring them, you can’t expect them to wait in the rural area and wait for the bus to come, turn up so that they can actually get to the hospital to get their treatment and then go all the way back because that’s not realistic," she explained. The university proposes "dispersive or discursive or dispersal funding" to address this.

The Ministry of Health affirmed its commitment to improving healthcare access and strengthening public health programs, stating that the Public Health Act aims to protect public health.

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You can’t bring them, you can’t expect them to wait in the rural area and wait for the bus to come, turn up so that they can actually get to the hospital to get their treatment and then go all the way back because that’s not realistic. So what we’re proposing under this particular slide is we need a dispersive or discursive or dispersal funding.