Cancer kills 1600 Fijians annually, says Assistant Health Minister
Assistant Health Minister Penioni Ravunawa urges urgent reform as Fiji hosts its first Oncology Conference to tackle rising cancer rates.
Thursday 16 October 2025 | 23:00
Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa with participants of the first ever oncology conference at the Holiday Inn Suva on October 16, 2025.
Photo: Kaneta Naimatau
Around 1,600 Fijians are diagnosed with cancer each year, making it the third leading cause of death in the country.
Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa revealed these figures yesterday while opening Fiji’s inaugural Oncology Conference at the Holiday Inn, Suva.
“Behind every number is a name, a story, a life, a mother in Labasa, a father in Nadi, a young woman in Suva, who never got screened,” Mr Ravunawa said.
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“Too often they come to us when it’s too late, not because they don’t care, but because our systems, our policies, and sometimes even our silence, failed them.”
Conference
The three-day conference brought together oncologists and health specialists from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand and Australia to strengthen cancer treatment across the Pacific region.
Mr Ravunawa said breast, cervical and endometrial cancers dominated among women while prostate, liver and lung cancers led the burden among men.
He outlined three key priorities including strengthening cancer registries in every Pacific nation, building partnerships between health ministries and research institutions, and providing holistic care integrating prevention, treatment and palliative care.
Friends of Fiji Health founding trustee Dr Rajen Prasad said the conference aimed to promote local analysis of cancer care, enhance collaboration between international experts and local health workers, and develop research networks to address inequities.
The organisation, based in Auckland, has conducted 38 medical missions to Fiji since 2010, providing free healthcare and surgical services to underserved communities.
ASAP Finance Group of Auckland provided sole financial sponsorship for the conference.
Dr Prasad said the conference featured 59 presentations examining treatment approaches and challenges faced in delivering quality cancer care in resource-constrained settings.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimated over 20 million new cancer cases worldwide in 2022, projected to reach 35 million by 2050.
