Josefa Sigavolavola 
File photo
About 40 percent of Fiji’s population below the age of 10 and more than 800million people in the Pacific region live with dental caries.
This was highlighted by Assistant Minister for Health and Medical Services Penioni Ravunawa while delivering Fiji’s country statement at the 76th session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee Meeting in Nadi this week.
Ravunawa explained these conditions are critical because it shares the same risk factors as non-communicable diseases and investment in oral health in Fiji and the region remain limited.
“In Fiji, the burden is significant the prevalence of untreated dental caries among Fijian children aged one to nine years is 46.7 percent, while lip and oral cancers amount to 2.9 percent of all cancers in the Ministry’s registry which affects more men than women.”
Ravunawa says these figures highlight the urgent need to strengthen prevention and integrate oral health into primary health care and the universal health coverage.
“We are taking decisive steps, through our 23 School Oral Health Teams, we reached 158 thousand children in 2024 and conducted, oral health education and tooth-brushing drills in schools and our Healthy 5:20 Smile Initiative motivates preschoolers to keep twenty healthy milk teeth at the age of five and last year 2,278 children proudly received their Bula Smile Certificates.”
Elaborating on other national oral health progress that the Ministry is making, the Assistant Minister further states that Fiji is now preparing for a National Oral Health Survey to better define Fiji’s oral health status before policy and strategic interventions are laid out.
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