[Photo: FILE]

Fiji Airways is helping bridge critical healthcare gaps across Fiji through its partnership with Cure Kids Fiji, enabling doctors, researchers, and specialists to reach communities where their expertise is needed most.

The airline supports travel for programme staff, medical specialists, and researchers to deliver child health initiatives, training, and research from urban centres to remote maritime communities.

Since the partnership began, Fiji Airways has supported 41 flight sectors, including 30 domestic and 11 international, enabling healthcare professionals to deliver programmes, training, and research.

These initiatives have directly reached 819 people, including 716 pregnant mothers through antenatal health programmes and 103 children through rheumatic heart disease screening.

Fiji Airways Chief Executive Paul Scurrah says the partnership reflects the airline’s commitment to supporting communities across Fiji.

One example occurred during a health screening event at the Accor Hotels Sports Day in Nadi, where Cure Kids Fiji and the Ministry of Health offered free heart screening.

Travel support enabled a pediatrician to fly from Labasa Hospital to Nadi, where 103 children were screened. Several children were identified with early-stage rheumatic heart disease – when patients typically show no symptoms allowing families to receive counselling and referrals before the condition progresses.

Cure Kids Fiji Country Manager Dr. Jimaima Kailawadoko-Matanaicake says the event captured the partnership’s practical impact.

Dr. Matanaicake says something as simple as providing transport can completely change a child’s future.

With Fiji Airways’ support, Cure Kids Fiji is strengthening key national health programmes, including RHD prevention and screening, the Fiji Antenatal Study, Strep A Vaccine Global Consortium research, the Fiji Oxygen Program, and climate and respiratory health initiatives.

Travel support has also allowed teams to reach remote locations such as Vanuabalavu, where critical infrastructure upgrades – including the installation of a solar-powered system at Lomaloma Subdivisional Hospital – are strengthening healthcare delivery.