Hon Nanaia Mahuta

Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minita Take Aorere

Further support for Fiji’s COVID-19 response has been announced by Foreign Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today. The package builds on previous tranches of assistance Aotearoa New Zealand has provided to Fiji.

“Fiji remains in a very challenging position in their response to COVID-19 and our continued thoughts are with the Fijian people at this time,” Nanaia Mahuta said.

“New Zealand is committed to supporting our Pacific neighbours through these unprecedented times. We need to look beyond our own borders in the fight to eradicate COVID-19.

“This latest package of support will continue our efforts to assist the Government of Fiji and civil society partners to assist the most vulnerable communities impacted by COVID-19 over the next 12 months,” said Nanaia Mahuta.

The $12 million package will support ongoing equipment and supply needs, including testing capacity, oxygen supply and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) stocks. It will also be directed towards urgent and essential operations costs, including funding for technical assistance, surge support for Government operations, and support for monitoring of community isolation cases.

New Zealand will also contribute NZ$1 million to the International Red Cross Global Appeal for COVID-19 tagged to support the Fiji Red Cross Society’s National Response Plan focused on vaccine roll out, blood donations and training of volunteers for home-based care.

This latest announcement is in addition to the package of assistance announced for Fiji earlier this month, including delivery of 100,000 doses of vaccines and funding the recruitment of 190 Fiji graduate nurses to provide surge capacity across the health system.

“We continue to stay in contact with the Government of Fiji and civil society partners to respond to further requests of assistance,” Nanaia Mahuta said.

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