Shania Shayal Prasad 
[file photo]
To improve service delivery and align with global standards, public dental clinics are set to receive modern equipment and advanced technology.
A significant challenge, however, is the unreliable power supply in rural and maritime areas, which prevents clinics from fully utilizing new equipment and risks damaging sensitive machines.
Head of Oral Health Dr. Jone Turagaluvu adds that they are focusing on assessing how the latest tools can be integrated into the public system.
“So we are discussing with the Fiji National University on how they can assist us with that, and they have been providing us with information, not only with equipment, but also with other materials and consumables.”
Dr. Turagaluvu states that many dental graduates are trained using state-of-the-art technology but face a drastic downgrade in resources upon joining the public service.
“They have been managing, but I believe that for them to have these resources made easily available to them is a lot of burden and also gives them more interest to deliver and improve on the services.”
Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa says they are now considering solar power solutions for smaller rural facilities.
Ravunawa adds that long delays in the procurement of dental equipment, sometimes taking up to three years, also hamper the ministry’s ability to modernize services.
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