THE Health Ministry has activated response plans ahead of a prolonged dry period expected to affect the country until early 2027.
The dry spell, forecast by the Fiji Meteorological Service, is linked to a Super El Niño phenomenon affecting much of the world.
Assistant Minister for Health and Medical Services Penioni Ravunawa says ensuring all major divisional hospitals and health centres have running water is a key priority.
“In the public health sector, it is important that we have running water in all of the health facilities, nursing stations, sub-divisional hospitals and also in our tertiary level care,” he said.
He said the ministry’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programme had been critical in strengthening preparedness.
“For the last three years we have put together sanitation programmes for most of our health facilities.
“We have reserve tanks that have been put up to ensure better flow of water into the hospitals.”
According to the World Health Organization’s El Niño 2026 Global Public Health Situation Analysis, droughts and flooding could disrupt food production, livelihoods and access to safe water, increasing the risk of food insecurity and malnutrition.
The report said droughts and flooding may also increase the risk of waterborne, vector-borne and food-borne infectious diseases.
