Health Minister Dr. Atonio Lalabalavu explains that the increase in the 2024-2025 Budget allocation for NGOs from $900,000 to $1.6 million is intended to support their activities.
He was responding to a question from Independent parliamentarian Faiyaz Koya, who asked about the nearly 78 percent increase.
“As you may know, the grant to NGOs this financial year was allocated to a few organizations, including the Fiji Cancer Society, Empower Pacific, and a few others—probably five,” Dr. Lalabalavu said.
“This financial year, we have seen an increase in requests for funding through NGOs. These NGOs help fill gaps where the Ministry’s work is greatly needed.
“This year, we also expect WOWS Kids Fiji to apply for this fund.
“The funding is allocated through an EOI (Expression of Interest) process. Currently, we have five NGOs; I can provide the names of these NGOs for this financial year. However, for this Budget, we are expecting more NGOs to join and share these funds to assist the Ministry in its work.”