Tax kava, alcohol, junk food: Doctors propose
Health experts debate who should pay for healthcare in Fiji
Sunday 13 September 2026 | 19:00
Delegates at the Fiji Medical Association's Annual General Meeting in Pacific Harbour on September 12, 2026.
Photo: Fiji Medical Association
The Fiji College of General Practitioners wants a 5 per cent tax on kava, alcohol, sugary drinks and junk food to help fund healthcare, instead of making Fijians pay directly for hospital services.
The proposal came during a panel discussion on the Ministry of Health’s Strategic Plan 2026-2031 at the Fiji Medical Association (FMA)’s Annual General Meeting in Pacific Harbour yesterday.
College president Dr Dhirendra Lal said supermarkets were filled with unhealthy options.
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Asked whether urban residents should start paying for health services, Dr Lal said no.
“We are already in crisis,” he said. “There should be a 5 per cent tax on Kava, alcohol, sugary drinks, and junk food.”
“You just enter a supermarket, top to bottom is all junk food.”
Former Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete disagreed with charging people based on where they lived, saying rural Fijians who could fish and farm should not be treated the same as poor urban families.
“I don’t think it’s fair. Equity, maybe tax might be useful, but not geographical location,” he said.
FMA president Dr Ronal Kumar said Fijians who could afford insurance should take responsibility for their own health costs instead of relying on the public system.
Former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum warned that rising living costs were already pushing families towards cheap, unhealthy food.
He proposed means-testing wealthier patients for procedures such as heart surgery instead of taxing everyone equally.
