Diabetes Fiji says funding pleas ignored as diabetes cases rise

Diabetes Fiji says repeated requests for state funding have been ignored despite escalating diabetes cases and rising healthcare costs.

The organisation has renewed its call for dedicated Government funding, saying stronger investment in community health programmes is needed to address the country's worsening diabetes crisis.

The appeal follows the release of the 2025 Fiji NCD STEPS Survey, which found diabetes prevalence has increased to between 16.5 and 17 per cent, up from 14.6 per cent in 2011.

Executive director Kini Marawa said repeated requests for direct state funding had gone unanswered despite the organisation's frontline role in diabetes prevention, screening, education and patient support.

"Despite attending every budget consultation and presenting formal budget submissions year after year, our calls for direct state funding remain unheeded," he said.

Mr Marawa urged the Government to establish a dedicated budget allocation for civil society organisations that work alongside the Ministry of Health and Medical Services to deliver community-based healthcare programmes.

He said public health could no longer be treated as a secondary priority, noting that non-communicable diseases account for 80 per cent of all deaths in Fiji.

Mr Marawa said investing in healthcare was essential to achieving Fiji's long-term development goals.

He added that the latest survey findings and the fact that between 30 and 40 per cent of NCD-related deaths occur prematurely among adults aged 35 to 55 showed the urgent need for greater investment in prevention and community-based health initiatives.