Fiji has pledged to take a holistic approach to find solutions to ensure that all Fijians live a healthier, happier, and more prosperous future.
This was the message made by the Fijian Prime Minister Hon. Voreqe Bainimarama while speaking at the Third High Level meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases held at the United Nations headquarters.
Prime Minister Bainimarama said the Fijian government has allocated huge amounts of capital into building and upgrading our hospitals and health centres, along with training and recruiting skilled nurses and doctors to the hospitals.
“We have eliminated import taxes on healthy fruits and vegetables, while also introducing taxes on many of the unhealthy vices that contribute to the development of NCDs like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.”
“These include alcohol, sugary sodas and cigarettes. While policies like this may not be politically popular, we don’t have time to sit around and worry about our own political fortunes while thousands of Fijians are dying every year.”
He said Government is taking proactive role to encourage all Fijians to change their lifestyles in Fiji to stay active throughout their adult lives and not to hang up their rugby or football kits and retire on the couch after they’ve passed their physical primes