Dr Alumeci Tui Taoi. [Photo: BOSE VAVATAGA]

A specialist gynaecologist says women’s reproductive health is becoming a growing silent crisis, with more women facing serious health problems and not enough specialists available to meet demand.

Dr Alumeci Tui Taoi of Pacific Specialist Hospital says conditions such as HIV, diabetes in pregnancy, high blood pressure and obesity are now adding pressure to women’s health across the country.

She says population growth has increased the number of patients, but the health system does not have enough specialists to properly care for them.

She says many women only seek medical help when their conditions are already advanced, often because of poor health awareness and a habit of delaying care until problems become serious.

“We have historically a really bad attitude towards health, and maybe towards everything in life in general. And one of which is the, okay, when I’m ready, then I will go. And so for health care workers, it’s been trying to reach out to women to come and book early, come in when you’re not pregnant, take care of your health.”

Dr Tui Taoi also points to a decline in community health outreach, saying in the past nurses would travel to villages to reach women, but this kind of service is no longer common.

She adds that access to screening and specialists remains a major challenge, especially in rural areas, with limited resources and high costs making it difficult for many women to get early treatment.

“We’re talking about cancer screening. Never happened because the machine broke down and the whole nation was held in vitilevu. There was no screening done. But they can access, you know, a private hospital, which is expensive for the general public. And I guess the other thing is the, you know, the government doesn’t have much money now, I guess, because when you hear stories for we went there, we can’t even get basic medicines”

Dr Tui Taoi is urging women to take more responsibility for their health through prevention, regular check-ups and healthier lifestyles, saying this is key to protecting future generations.

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