Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today New Zealand will provide additional support to Fiji to mitigate the effects on vulnerable households of the current COVID-19 outbreak.
She says, “recognising the increasingly challenging situation in Fiji, Aotearoa will provide an additional package of assistance to support the Government of Fiji and Fijians most affected by the current outbreak.”
The support includes:
- Up to $5 million to deliver COVID-19 operations
- $5 million to local civil society organisations working directly with households to mitigate poverty risks, including through the provision of food rations.
- New Zealand will embed two medical specialists into a Medical Assistance Team (MAT) alongside Australian partners
- A New Zealand anaesthetist travelled today with the six-person Australian team to Fiji on a Fiji Airways flight from Australia and will spend seven days in MIQ in Fiji before beginning their 28 day assignment.
- A New Zealand Defence Force public health/infectious disease specialist will be deployed in the near future.
Image credit: Fiji Government Facebook