The Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises and Development (FRIEND) marked World Water Day 2026 by commissioning community water tanks at Korovuli Village in Macuata, a move that FRIEND says will immediately improve water access for 28 households and about 162 residents. The small-scale infrastructure was officially opened on March 22, 2026, in a ceremony attended by Assistant Minister for Public Works Naisa Tuinaceva, who pledged further government support for the settlement.
“Today’s commissioning is more than the installation of a water tank, it is an investment in dignity, equality, and resilience,” Tuinaceva said at the launch, underlining the government’s role in the partnership. She announced that the Public Works Ministry would support Korovuli with two additional water tanks to further strengthen local water security, signalling an escalation in assistance beyond the initial installation.
FRIEND’s acting chief executive Viloki Gohil said the tanks would have an outsized social impact in the village, especially for women and girls. “Through this intervention, we are advancing Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 6 by easing the disproportionate burden on women and girls, and creating space for them to participate more fully in education, livelihoods, and community leadership,” Gohil said, noting that reduced time spent fetching water can free up hours for schooling and economic activity.
The commissioning comes against stark national indicators: FRIEND highlighted that only 27 percent of Fiji’s rural population currently has access to safely managed drinking water services. That shortfall has driven a mix of targeted local projects and broader technical initiatives across the country — from community-funded and government-backed village systems to recent national surveys and major infrastructure upgrades in urban corridors.
Korovuli’s tanks represent a local, immediate intervention that complements those longer-term measures. In November 2025 the government began an airborne electromagnetic survey of Vanua Levu to map groundwater and inform drilling plans expected to result in hundreds of new boreholes over the next several years. Meanwhile, the Water Authority of Fiji has been implementing pressure redistribution and storage projects around Suva to stabilise urban supplies, but those programmes do not directly reach many remote rural communities.
Community leaders in Korovuli say the new tanks will improve hygiene and resilience, particularly through the wet season when roads and water sources can be disrupted. FRIEND noted the practical benefits beyond convenience: safer water reduces disease risk, supports better sanitation, and lessens vulnerability during climate-driven weather events. The pledged addition of two tanks will expand storage capacity and redundancy, officials said, reducing the risk that a single failure could leave households without supply.
FRIEND and the Public Works Ministry framed the project as part of a concerted push to close the rural-urban gap in essential services. Officials at the commissioning said attention will now turn to ensuring the new systems are maintained and that further rollouts prioritise areas with the lowest access rates, while longer-term technical work continues to identify sustainable groundwater sources for broader coverage.
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