Riya Mala 
[Photo: SUPPLIED]
Remote health facilities are getting more reliable power, helping strengthen healthcare services in some of Fiji’s most isolated communities.
Rotuma Hospital is now Fiji’s second fully solarised Subdivisional Hospital, following Lomaloma Hospital.
Under the UNICEF EPI Programme, four additional health sites in the Eastern Division have also been solarised.
These include Rotuma Hospital with a 40-kilowatt system, Matuku Health Centre and two staff quarters with a 5-kilowatt system, Gasele Nursing Station in Kadavu with a 5-kilowatt system, and Nacamaki Nursing Station on Koro with a 5-kilowatt system.
The Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa, says reliable power will help health facilities maintain essential services, safely store vaccines and medicines, operate critical equipment and provide safer working conditions for health workers.
With Nacamaki Nursing Station now solarized, all three health facilities on Koro Island have access to power.
Ravunawa says this is an important step in reducing infrastructure challenges faced by island communities and ensuring geographical isolation does not become a barrier to essential healthcare.
The solar programme is also expected to reduce reliance on conventional energy and help health facilities remain operational during power disruptions and climate-related
events.
The investment supports Fiji’s commitment to clean energy, climate action and a more sustainable and climate-resilient health system.
