Ni sa Bula Vinaka, Namaste, Konichiwa and Good Morning to you all
It is my great pleasure to be present here this morning to officiate the opening of Warehouse Tolu – a project conceived from lessons learnt following the aftermath of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the invaluable support and assistance of the Japanese Government – who without which – this project would not have been made possible.
The Japanese Government has been a steadfast partner in our nation’s development, significantly contributing to critical sectors such as health, education, agriculture, environment, town planning and disaster risk reduction to name a few.
The establishment of Warehouse Tolu is a reflection of the continued commitment by the Japanese Government to supporting the people of Fiji as we continue to navigate towards the path of sustainable development.
Global Overview
The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected health care systems and economies around the world. The crippling of global health care systems reinforced the need for more emergency preparedness and responsive measures to better address coordination and implementation of service delivery.
Over the years, global spending on medicine has increased steadily, driven mostly by the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases and chronic illnesses. These health conditions continue to impact both the healthcare sector and the broader economy.
Nevertheless, there has been significant progress made within the medical space. Pharmaceutical innovations have led to groundbreaking treatments, curing diseases that were once considered incurable.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on pharmaceutical markets, statistics show that global medicine expenditures from 2020 to 2024 totalled $5.9 trillion, a significant increase from $1.3 trillion in 2018.
These health challenges continue to place immense strain on healthcare systems globally. Nations are competing for essential medicines and health interventions and developing countries like ours often struggle to access these critical resources due to disparities in healthcare availability.
National Overview
The nation’s health sector remains resilient to identifying proactive responsive mechanisms to enhance the implementation, monitoring and coordination of our service delivery.
As a nation, we continue to learn every day. The need for quality infrastructure, unlimited supply of medicine and the retention of our skilled healthcare workers remains to be a challenge.
Consequently, our Health Ministry continues to be inundated by the shortages of critical drugs and essential medicines to meet patient demand. However, Government remains committed to rectifying this. The Warehouse Tolu being cornerstone of this commitment – a vital step forward to advancing the challenges that continue to threaten our healthcare system.
In the current fiscal year, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services was allocated $2.5 million to strengthen our Primary Health Care services to deliver efficient healthcare services and build health resilience in our communities through health prevention, preparedness and promotion.
Through the PHC approach, we intend to achieve Universal Health Coverage for our people and progressively improve our health status in the years to come.
A critical component of PHC is access to essential medicines, and this is where the new warehouse for the Northern Division – that we will open today will play a significant role. A project generously funded by the Japanese Government at a total cost of $2.2 million.
Warehouse Tolu
Ladies and Gentlemen, the establishment of Warehouse Tolu is a remarkable milestone in our nation’s development. The Warehouse will now serve as the ‘medicine hub’ of the Northern Division – a forefront of transitioning medical supplies across the three provinces.
The new warehouse will service the 65 healthcare facilities in the Northern Division, this includes 11 healthcare facilities in the Bua province, 25 healthcare facilities in the Macuata province, 19 healthcare facilities in Cakaudrove, and 10 healthcare facilities in the island Taveuni.
The 25m x 20m Warehouse is aligned to the Fiji Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Services building height standard and will play a critical role in the storage and distribution of medical supplies for outpatient service, Non-Communicable Diseases or NCD, HIV, TB, and Rheumatic Heart Disease amongst others.
In addition, it will store medicines and consumables for Family Planning, Laboratory Reagents, Dental Items, and Vaccines, as well as biomedical equipment and consumables for the Northern Division health facilities.
The Warehouse is enclosed with side elevations to accommodate office space, internet access, washroom facilities, allow disability access, vehicle access and turning points, a spacious container storage area, and a loading and unloading bay. The warehouse is of steel framing raised to approximately 900mm above the ground level, and compliant with category five Cyclone certification.
To conclude, I wish to acknowledge and thank the people and the Government of Japan for their continued support in enhancing Fiji’s health sector. We look forward to further collaboration in advancing our fruitful partnership in the future.
On behalf of the people and the Government of Fiji, I extend our sincere words of appreciation and gratitude to the Government and the people of Japan and to JICA for this wonderful gift to the people of Fiji.
Arigato Gozaimasu, Vinaka Vaka Levu, Dhaanvayaad and
Thank You