Praneeta Prakash 
The Ministry of Health says the purpose of the Public Health Act is to protect public health. [Photo: FILE]
The University of Fiji says Fiji needs to strengthen healthcare services at the community level instead of relying mainly on hospitals in major centres.
Speaking during submissions to the Standing Committee on the Public Health Amendment Bill UniFiji Vice-Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem said that public health issues such as the non-communicable disease crisis and HIV are not only medical concerns but also social issues.
She says healthcare must be viewed in a broader way, with more resources provided to communities.
“So rather than having hospitals in the main centres only or health services in the main centres, this particular proposal and recommendation says that we should consider, the government should consider putting resources out in the communities to a bigger extent than they have now.”
Professor Shameem said many patients, especially those in rural areas, face challenges accessing treatment for chronic illnesses such as NCDs.
“You can’t bring them, you can’t expect them to wait in the rural area and wait for the bus to come, turn up so that they can actually get to the hospital to get their treatment and then go all the way back because that’s not realistic. So what we’re proposing under this particular slide is we need a dispersive or discursive or dispersal funding.”
The Ministry of Health says the purpose of the Public Health Act is to protect public health.
The Ministry says that improving access to healthcare and strengthening public health programmes remain key priorities.
