Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad has announced a $2billion prescription for Fiji’s health future.
Prof Prasad unveiled ambitious plans to overhaul the nation’s health infrastructure over the next five to seven years, including a new national hospital, as part of a sweeping development strategy backed by international partners.
Despite mounting debt and economic headwinds, Prof Prasad says the investment is essential to improve quality of life, restore public confidence and unlock business growth.
“If we don’t have this infrastructure, nobody would want to invest and we are getting a handle on those infrastructure issues,” Prof Prasad said.
He stated that the project is being developed with the support of the Australian government and is expected to significantly impact Fiji’s health sector.
Prof Prasad also noted challenges with existing wastewater treatment systems and said the Government is making further infrastructure investments to address these issues.
“The capacity of treating wastewater is less than… more than 200 per cent of it goes out.
“That’s why when you travel from there, you don’t escape the water and the smell.”
He said infrastructure development is being prioritised to support both the quality of life and business investment.
“We’re looking at infrastructure throughout the country because we know that not only it improves the quality of life of our people, but it also supports our businesses.”
Prof Prasad said that despite current fiscal pressures, the government is committed to progressing with infrastructure development.
He attributed part of the current debt level to the COVID-19 pandemic and part to what he described as poor economic performance prior to the pandemic.
“We had negative growth in 2019.
“And when COVID hit us, we had the fourth-largest contraction of all the economies in the world.”
