CWM Hospital Surgical Registrar Dr. Ana Tugia says Fiji has made significant progress in diabetic care over the past decade, despite being a lower-middle-income country and continuing to face resource constraints.

Dr. Tugia says the return of specialist Dr Salako Maimbole has transformed how diabetic foot infections are treated, with vascular services now improving outcomes for patients who previously had limited options.

She adds that nephrology teams, eye specialists and expanded services in Suva, Labasa and Lautoka, including dialysis units, have strengthened Fiji’s ability to manage diabetes and its complications.

She says Fiji’s health workers continue to do the best they can with limited resources, and that every Fijian also has a role to play in improving their own health, workplaces and communities.

Dr. Tugia says being under-resourced does not mean poor care; instead, it requires creativity, teamwork and a willingness to think beyond constraints.

“Being under resources doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to provide good services. It’s been being creative and looking and thinking outside the box and seeing how you as an individual as a clinician can you know take on what’s given and do the best for your people.”

Responding to her comments, Minister for Health Dr. Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu acknowledged that workforce shortages—particularly in public health—remain one of the ministry’s biggest challenges.

He says limited staffing means more emphasis is placed on clinical and curative services, which aligns with rising cases of amputations, cardiac disease and other complications linked to diabetes.

The Minister says Fiji needs a better balance between treatment and prevention, and the ministry is working to expand outreach, testing and early screening so people can get treatment earlier and avoid severe complications.

Dr. Lalabalavu says the goal is to help more people stay in the “secondary prevention” stage rather than progressing to dialysis, amputation and advanced disease, but workforce shortages continue to slow progress.

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