Editorial: No more denials, minister-fix the system please

The Ministry of Health's continued denial of an IV fluid shortage is not only disingenuous-it is dangerously dismissive. While officials recite procurement figures, families are being told to buy their own saline in public hospitals.

Nurses are rationing supplies. And NGOs like the International Women's Association are plugging gaps the government should have filled.

This is not a rare glitch in logistics-it's systemic neglect.

Minister for Health, you say there is no shortage. But the stories from patients, nurses and doctors tell another truth. From the ICU to remote health centres in Yasawa, people are paying for the most basic care. What is worse-there is no apology, no clarity, no ownership of the crisis.

Other nations facing similar global shortages have acted fast and openly. In Sri Lanka, hospitals issued public stock reports and centralised donations. In Papua New Guinea, where supply chains are fragile, the government invited international medical partners to coordinate delivery. Even Australia, during its 2018 saline shortage, didn't spin the public.

Instead, it launched a national response plan and transparent updates.

Why can't Fiji do the same?

You cannot claim transparency while failing to respond to media questions. You cannot defend a system where families pay out-of-pocket for IV drips in the middle of a dengue outbreak.

This is not just about fluid stock levels. It's about trust. And right now, public trust in the Ministry of Health is haemorrhage.

The Government must stop denying what frontline staff are living through. Publish real-time inventory data. Empower hospitals to communicate shortages. And most of all, speak truthfully to the people.

If the system is truly sound, let it be tested by scrutiny.

If it is broken, fix it-openly, urgently, and with dignity. Because no parent should be buying hospital supplies while ministers claim there's no crisis.

Feedback: naisak@fijisun.com.fj