Fiji’s national poverty statistics are ‘outdated’ and need to be updated to measure the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Fijian people.
Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises and Development (FRIEND) Fiji founder Sashi Kiran said this at an International Day for the Eradication of Poverty event on Monday.
“The poverty stats were done prior to the pandemic, so post pandemic we need to understand what our status is, where are we at, what’s our compass and only then we will be able to develop interventions accordingly,” she said.
“This annual day is also important for us to at least pause and reflect and really look at our statistics and think, where are we going? Are our interventions relevant?
“We’ve heard of so many women in destitution, but they have no social welfare allowance.
“They go to many organisations but there is no program for them.
“We are saying ‘let’s leave no one behind’ and a lot of these big, big slogans but we’re leaving a whole bunch of people behind.”
Ms Kiran said things were ‘really bad’ for majority of Fijians during the pandemic but things began to change slowly when international borders reopened.
However, she said many Fijians still continued to struggle.
She said just because international borders had reopened and tourist numbers were increasing did not mean that everything was “hunky-dory”.
Ms Kiran said it was about time the country focused on programs that would push people out of poverty.
“It’s not only about handouts or grants, it’s about building the capacity for them to be able to survive.”
