THE sourcing of medicine and medical supplies is becoming increasingly challenging as rising fuel and global logistics costs begin to impact Fiji’s health system.
This was raised by Fiji Medical Association president Ronald Kumar during an interview with this newspaper.
Dr Kumar said Fiji was already experiencing difficulties in securing essential resources as competition for global supplies intensified.
“We are also realising that it’s a bit harder to get our resources and medications from abroad,” he said.
“We’ve had three months of rise, but we can already see that we are struggling to find a few resources to come into the country.”
While the issue of fuel price increases was not unique to Fiji, he said it was part of a broader global challenge affecting supply chains and transport costs.
“You need to be competing with the rest of the world, and we must understand that the problem is not unique to us, it’s throughout the world.”
The rising cost of fuel, he said was also likely to have longer-term implications for healthcare infrastructure and service delivery.
“Even though the impact on frontline staff is still developing, pressure on consumables and imported medical products was already evident.”
He said Fiji’s reliance on imported medicines and equipment meant global price shifts had a direct impact on the local health system.
