Nadi — A US$239.5 million regional health investment, the Pacific Healthy Islands Transformation Project (PHIT), was officially launched yesterday in Nadi, marking a fresh push to bolster health system preparedness and long-term resilience across the Pacific.
Funded by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the OPEC Fund and The Pandemic Fund, PHIT is described by organisers as a long-term, multi-donor initiative to strengthen crisis response, pandemic readiness and routine health service delivery. The project will be implemented in partnership with Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu and the Pacific Community (SPC), signalling new regional collaboration on shared health threats, organisers said.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka officiated the launch, telling attendees that the investment would reinforce regional health security and the Pacific’s capacity to respond to pandemics, climate-related health risks and other system shocks. “A resilient health system is a cornerstone of national stability,” Rabuka said, adding that recent global and regional crises demonstrated that “preparedness, coordination, and strong systems save lives.”
PHIT’s stated focus includes integrated service delivery, climate-resilient health infrastructure and system strengthening to withstand future shocks. Officials say the programme will support measures across the health continuum, from community-level services to specialised care, though details of specific interventions, timelines and disbursement schedules were not released at the launch.
Rabuka noted that PHIT would complement national initiatives already under way in Fiji, including the Colonial War Memorial Hospital Master Plan developed with partners such as Australia and the World Bank. That national effort, he said, seeks to expand tertiary care capacity and includes plans for a new radiotherapy centre — a development cited as part of Fiji’s broader push to bolster specialised treatment capabilities alongside regional resilience efforts.
Leaders at the launch framed PHIT as reflecting Pacific unity and an opportunity for island nations to shape global conversations about climate-responsive health care. Rabuka said the initiative would enable Pacific countries to “lead discussions on climate-responsive healthcare,” highlighting the intersection of health security and climate vulnerability in the region.
Organisers have presented PHIT as a regional solution to shared challenges, but the immediate next steps — including country-level implementation plans, governance arrangements, and how the US$239.5 million will be allocated among preparedness, infrastructure, workforce and service delivery components — will be watched closely by governments and partner agencies as the project moves from announcement to action.
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