A NEW Pacific Network for Health and Climate Change Action Plan 2026-2028 was launched at the Second Pacific Conference on Health and Climate Change Summit in Nadi yesterday.
The regional framework is a culmination of 27 recommendations that were established at the Inaugural Pan Pacific Conference on Climate and Health in Fiji in 2024.
The recommendations generated a set of six thematic areas aimed at strengthening climate-resilient health systems, improving coordination and mobilising sustainable financing for climate and health interventions that include leadership and governance, enhanced collaboration, coordination and networking, capacity building, monitoring, research and data sharing and climate financing and public awareness and engagement.
Assistant Health Minister Penioni Ravunawa said Fiji stood to benefit from the regional policy alongside its regional neighbours.
“Fiji is the hub of the Pacific and with health we know that the Fiji School of Medicine is the medical school for all health professionals in the region so this Action Plan that we have now is critical for Fiji to be seen as a leader,” he said.
“It is a work in progress, and it is good to see that more than 60 per cent of the plan that was put together in 2024 has been achieved.”
The Second Pacific Conference on Health and Climate Change will provide a platform to develop and launch an outcome statement that is expected to help inform recommended priority health and climate actions going forward, and recommended shared key messages on Pacific health and climate change for Pre-COP and COP31.
