The Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWM) will soon operate a new radiotherapy centre aimed at improving cancer treatment for Fijians and patients across the Pacific, Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu announced at the launch of the US$239.5 million Pacific Healthy Islands Transformation Project (PHIT) in Nadi. Funded by the World Bank, the PHIT package names the radiotherapy facility as one of its thematic priorities for Fiji, marking what the minister described as a significant step toward expanding local cancer services.
“We have been planning for a number of years now,” Dr Lalabalavu told a panel discussion at the launch, saying discussions with World Bank counterparts concluded it was time to move from planning to implementation. “That is why we are here today with the launch of the Pacific Healthy Islands Transformation project… and one is a radiotherapy centre to be made available here in Fiji.” He said the facility would be the first of its kind in the country.
Dr Lalabalavu framed the new centre as part of a holistic transformation of cancer care that stretches beyond tertiary-level treatment. The PHIT initiative, he said, will address screening, treatment, public awareness, and the regulatory and legislative framework governing radiotherapy services. “The transformation of cancer care is not only about tertiary level care. It is about looking at it holistically from screening perspective, right down to treatment, awareness, and it is about transforming regulation, laws and transforming capacity for staffs that will be looking after this facility,” he said.
Under PHIT, 17 primary health care facilities have been identified for initial cancer screening and follow-up work, the minister said. Those centres will play a front-line role in early detection and post-treatment monitoring, linking community-level services to the new tertiary radiotherapy centre at CWM. Dr Lalabalavu described the CWM facility as not only a national resource but also as intended to function as a regional referral centre for radiotherapy treatment across the Pacific.
The government is also moving to update rules and training to support the new service. “We are also sending some of our staff for training so that when this facility is implemented, we certainly have people who will be able to look after it, and to ensure that it is operational so our people within the Pacific region can have access to radiotherapy treatment here in Fiji,” Dr Lalabalavu said. He added the project will include renewal of regulations governing radiotherapy treatment, though he did not provide a timetable for regulatory changes or the centre’s opening.
The announcement follows other recent investments in Fiji’s health infrastructure. Earlier this year the Ministry of Health rolled out new AI-powered digital X-ray machines across public hospitals, part of a broader push to modernise diagnostics. PHIT’s radiotherapy component brings treatment capacity closer to home for patients who currently require referrals overseas for specialised cancer care, a development health officials have long flagged as a priority.
Details on the radiotherapy centre’s capital cost, construction schedule, equipment suppliers and the countries where staff training will take place have not yet been released. The PHIT launch in Nadi sets the implementation phase in motion, with ministers and international partners expected to follow up on financing, procurement and operational planning in coming months.
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