Sainimili Magimagi 
The government is improving support for persons with disabilities by introducing the Fiji Disability Policy 2025-2035.
It focuses on rights and inclusion.
Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran explains the policy moves away from seeing disability as charity or medical issues and instead recognizes persons with disabilities as active rights holders.
The Ministry works with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities and partners to enhance services, data collection, and social protection.
“At present all Ministries and disability service providers collect disability data in different forms for reporting requirements for global/regional reporting requirements of their relevant ministries or donor funded programs.”
Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran [Source: Parliament of the Republic of Fiji/Facebook]
Kiran outlined efforts to empower disabled women and youth, increase the Disability Allowance Scheme by 5 percent benefiting 14,000 recipients and update tools for disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction.
To improve coordination, the Ministry is establishing a centralised disability data hub.
Kiran says currently, ministries and service providers collect disability data separately which limits effective planning.
The new database will provide timely, accessible, and detailed information to ensure targeted support in disaster response, education, health, and transport.
This unified approach, Kiran states aims to better serve vulnerable populations and promote an equal, barrier-free society.
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