Salutation
- Honourable Ministers and Assistant Ministers,
- Permanent Secretaries and Senior Government Officials,
- Development Partners,
- Distinguished Guests,
- Members of the Media,
- Ladies and Gentlemen.
Ni Sa Bula Vina’a and a very Good Morning to you all.
Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we stand today, ki Na Werelevu i Navatulevu, Na Momo na Tui Nadi. I pay my respects to their Chiefs, past and present, as well as emerging leaders.
I acknowledge their enduring role within the Vanua, we remain grateful for their custodianship of these lands, which allows us to convene on this important occasion.
Pacific Healthy Islands Transformation Project
- Today reaffirms our commitment to improving critical access to quality healthcare services and a strengthened health outcomes for all Fijians.
- For Fiji and the Region, health is not only a social priority—it is a foundation for economic resilience, national security, and sustainable development. The realities of geography, climate vulnerability, and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases demand a more integrated and forward-looking approach to health systems.
- The Pacific Healthy Islands Transformation Project (PHIT) represents that shift.
- It moves us beyond fragmented interventions toward a systems-based, people-centred model of care, one that prioritises strong primary healthcare, prevention and early intervention and resilient health systems capable of responding to both current and emerging challenges.
Alignment with National Health Priorities
- This initiative is closely aligned with Fiji’s health reform agenda, particularly the outcomes of the 2024 Health Sector Review, which identified the urgent need to strengthen primary healthcare delivery at community level, address the escalating burden of non-communicable diseases, modernise health infrastructure and improve workforce capability and service delivery efficiency.
- PHIT provides a regional platform to accelerate these priorities through coordinated investment, technical support, and shared learning.
- It is not simply a project—it is an implementation mechanism for reform.
Regional Cooperation and Scale
- With an investment of US$239.5 million, and implemented in partnership with Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Pacific Community, PHIT reflects a new level of ambition in regional collaboration.
- It demonstrates that Pacific Island countries can collectively design and deliver large-scale, high-impact health investments that are tailored to our unique context.
- This approach strengthens regional health security, resource efficiency and our collective capacity to respond to crises—whether pandemics, climate-related health risks, or system shocks.
Health Security and Resilience
- A resilient health system is a cornerstone of national stability.
- The lessons from recent global and regional crises are clear: preparedness, coordination, and strong systems save lives.
- Through PHIT, we are investing in integrated service delivery, climate-resilient health infrastructure and systems that can withstand future shocks.
- In Fiji, this is complemented by key national initiatives, including the Colonial War Memorial Hospital Master Plan, developed with partners such as Australia and the World Bank, which will strengthen tertiary care capacity, including the development of a new radiotherapy centre.
- Together, these efforts reinforce a continuum of care—from community to specialised services.
Pacific Way
- A resilient healthcare system is cornerstone to our national and regional security. By investing in our people, we are reaffirming our commitment to the “Pacific Way” of regional solidarity and collective self-reliance.
- Our collective strength and our unity as the Blue Pacific continent, places us at the forefront of transformative health diplomacy and regional resilience. By synergising our efforts through the PHIT project, we are positioning ourselves as Pacific Island nations in leading global discourse and innovation of climate-responsive healthcare.
- This unified approach ensures that we secure a future where our health systems are strategically built to withstand the global dynamics and unprecedented challenges that persist within our rapidly changing environment and not be subject to a uniform approach of one-size-fits-all.
- Such global uncertainties have taught us that “no nation is an island” in the face of a health crisis and that our collective resilience depends on the strength of our partnerships.
- Together, these partnerships demonstrate how a Pacific-centred approach to development is able to translate strategic regional visions into tangible national outcomes.
Ocean of Peace
- As we move to improve the wellbeing of our Pacific people, at the centre of this journey must be an Ocean of Peace. This vision speaks not only to the absence of conflict, but to a deeper commitment to cooperation, mutual respect, and shared responsibility across our vast oceans. It reflects on our identity as nations bound together by history, culture, and an understanding that our futures are connected.
- Peace in the Pacific is sustained not by words alone, but by the wellbeing of our people and the resilience of our societies. Healthy populations underpin social stability, economic confidence, and national strength. In our region, peace, health, and sustainability are not separate ambitions, they are realities that mutually reinforce each other.
- For this reason, cooperation, solidarity, and shared stewardship must remain at the heart of our regional agenda. The ocean that connects us also entrusts us with a collective duty to care for our islands, our seas, and our communities together. A truly peaceful ocean demands healthy islands and thriving communities. Through united Pacific‑led initiatives we can ensure that this vision will endure for future generations.
Closing Remarks
- As we launch this project, I would like to briefly shed some light on the inspiration behind the PHIT logo. At its core, the circular logo represents balance, wholeness and continuity, which recognises health as an integral part of one’s physical, mental and social wellbeing.
- More importantly, the circle symbolises the interconnectedness of PHIT, its components, its partnerships and our shared regional responsibility.
- The blue and green colour palette strategically aligns with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent – where blue represents our oceans, unity, and shared stewardship and green symbolises health, growth, and regeneration. Whilst the Pacific‑inspired motifs add cultural resonance.
- Together, the logo reflects PHIT as a living, regenerative regional ecosystem.
- In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the invaluable support from our Development Partners such as the Asian Development Bank, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Pandemic Fund and the World Bank in leading the mobilisation of critical resources to support our national health infrastructure and security.
- These partnerships represent a paradigm shift in how we engage with the global financial community, in moving towards a model of high impact, coordinated investment.
- I also take this opportunity to acknowledge the central role of the Pacific Community, as our region’s premier scientific and technical organisation, in providing the specialised expertise to navigate and strategically align our regional health priorities with global best practices.
- Their technical expertise and leadership are indispensable in ensuring national outcomes are seamlessly integrated into our broader regional framework.
- Let today serve as a catalyst for change in how we conceptualise and deliver healthcare services within and across our national borders. By moving beyond isolated efforts and embracing an integrated regional approach, we are setting a new standard for health security and clinical excellence.
- One that is founded on the principles of the “Pacific Way” where our shared vulnerabilities are met with collective strength and our diverse but unified vision.
- May God bless Fiji and may God bless us all.
Vinaka vakalevu
