The Minister for Justice, Siromi Turaga, believes that his upcoming visit to Bangkok, Thailand, next year will enhance the understanding and address the challenges related to birth and death registration in Fiji. The ministry has set an ambitious goal to achieve 100 percent birth registration by 2026.
According to Mr. Turaga, Fiji is leading in this area compared to other Pacific Island nations, with the country currently boasting an 80 percent birth registration rate. However, he noted that there is still a significant portion of the population—20 percent—that remains unregistered, and he intends to reach out to this demographic.
“Our teams conducted visits in some regions of Vanua Levu and discovered that the lack of birth registration among newborns and children is a prevalent issue. Although there has been a slight increase in awareness, it has not yet covered the entire target population,” he stated.
Mr. Turaga also mentioned the need for additional budgetary support in the upcoming financial year to facilitate the continuation of the birth registration efforts. Samuela Ligairi, the special administrator for Labasa Town Council, indicated that local advisory councillors and village leaders would assist the ministry in identifying individuals within their communities who are not registered at birth.