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Fiji is expected to introduce radiotherapy services, marking a major step forward in cancer treatment for the country and the wider Pacific.

The service will be explored under the Pacific Healthy Islands Transformation Project, a $526.9 million regional healthcare initiative funded by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the OPEC Fund, and the Pandemic Fund.

The project aims to strengthen specialist healthcare services within the region, allowing patients to access treatment closer to home and reducing the need for costly overseas travel.

Currently, many patients requiring radiotherapy are referred abroad, including to countries such as India, often at high financial and emotional cost.

Under the initiative, Fiji is being considered as a hub for radiotherapy services, which will also support neighbouring Pacific nations.

World Bank Health Specialist Mesulame Namedre says many small island nations do not have the resources, infrastructure, or workforce required to establish and maintain such facilities.

However, he adds that a regional approach will allow these small island countries, such as Tuvalu, Tonga, and Kiribati, to access treatment more easily by travelling to Fiji instead of being referred to countries outside the region.

“It’s also for the other Pacific countries, like it’s a regional resource – they don’t have to send patients on multiple flights to India or elsewhere, but it’s just one flight away to get to the treatment option.”

The initiative is expected to significantly reduce travel burdens, making life-saving treatment more accessible within a Pacific setting.

The project will be led by the governments of Fiji, Tuvalu, Tonga, and Kiribati, with support from the Pacific Community, extending it to countries including Nauru, Solomon Islands, Samoa, and Vanuatu.

Fiji will receive the largest share of the project, with an allocation of FJ$400.3 million. The remaining funding will be distributed among the other participating countries and SPC, with Kiribati receiving 8.18 percent, Tuvalu 6.83 percent, Tonga 5.7 percent, and SPC receiving 3.34 percent.