Fiji's Healthcare System: Hospitals, Access for Foreigners, Emergencies and Health Risks

The Ministry of Health, headquartered in Suva (Dinem House, Amy Street), steers the system. Its website cites among the public facilities the CWM Hospital in Suva, the Lautoka Hospital, the Labasa Hospital, the St Giles Hospital (psychiatric hospital) and the Twomey Hospital, as well as the Fiji Centre for Disease Control, responsible for epidemiological surveillance, with an alert system on notifiable diseases such as meningococcal meningitis or influenza. An interactive map makes it possible to locate health centres.

The ministry also describes several programmes: a free medicines scheme run by the Fiji Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Services Centre, actions on prevention of non-communicable diseases, mental health and family health, and a treatment abroad scheme for patients the local system cannot treat. The eligibility conditions of a foreigner for these schemes do not appear on the pages read: the ministry confirms the rules and the fees applied to non-citizens.

The World Bank records fewer than one doctor per 1,000 inhabitants and fewer than 2 hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants; current health expenditure represents less than 4% of GDP, and life expectancy at birth reaches about 67 years. These indicators describe a system under constraint, where the dispersion of the islands, geography and limited resources complicate access to specialised care. Patients are directed to divisional hospitals, and complex cases may require treatment outside the territory.

France Diplomatie does not detail hospital equipment but indicates that, without insurance, access to care, including in a life-threatening emergency, may be compromised, and that the embassy covers no medical costs. A resident therefore arranges cover including evacuation, and checks with the insurer which facilities accept direct billing.

No official source read describes a Fijian health insurance scheme to which a foreign resident affiliates, nor free public care for non-citizens. The local provident and pension scheme for employees is not the same as health insurance. The Ministry of Health and the employer specify what applies to a foreign employee, and Fijian immigration indicates whether health insurance is required when applying for a permit.

On the French side, Fiji does not appear in the CLEISS list of social security agreements: the Carte Vitale (the French health insurance card) cannot be used on site. The Assurance Maladie (the French national health insurance) points out that an expatriate no longer falls under the French scheme, unless they join the CFE (Caisse des Français de l’étranger, the French social security fund for nationals abroad) voluntarily. The detail by status is in healthcare reimbursement in Fiji.

First-line consultations take place in a public health centre or a private general practice; specialists and the technical platform are concentrated in the major hospitals of Suva, Lautoka and Labasa. Local emergency numbers do not appear on the France Diplomatie pages: note them on arrival from your host or the embassy, and save the insurer’s assistance number, which coordinates referral to a facility and evacuation.

• French embassy in Suva: +679 331 05 26 (office) and +679 992 17 52 (out-of-hours emergency), to be checked on the France Diplomatie website.
• Keep the insurance certificate, the list of treatments with their international nonproprietary names and the contact details of your doctor in France.
• Keep cash or a high-limit card for a possible advance, checking direct billing with the insurer.

France Diplomatie recommends taking only the necessary medicines, in their original packaging, with a prescription stating the international nonproprietary names, and never buying medicines in the street. Vaccinations of the French schedule should be up to date (diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, whooping cough, measles). Yellow fever is compulsory if you arrive from an endemic zone where you stayed in the previous six days; hepatitis A and B, typhoid, chikungunya and dengue are discussed according to the length of the stay.

• Dengue: the local authorities report a multiplication of cases in the west, north and centre; no curative treatment, avoid anti-inflammatory drugs.
• Leptospirosis: resurgence reported in all divisions; avoid standing water and wear shoes.
• Typhoid, chikungunya, Zika: hand and food hygiene, protection against mosquitoes.
• Ciguatera: avoid mid-depth reef fish from November to April, because of toxins.
• Brucellosis: avoid local milk and unpasteurised dairy products.

Pregnant women or those planning a pregnancy consult a doctor before going to an area where Zika circulates, which can cause neurological complications and microcephaly in the newborn, and any fever during the stay or in the weeks after return warrants a consultation (France Diplomatie). For children, the French vaccination schedule must be up to date before departure, with attention to measles, and the doctor or an international vaccination centre advises on additional vaccines depending on the length of the stay, such as hepatitis A and B, typhoid or dengue when an epidemic context justifies it.

For maternity on site, cover is checked before conception: the CFE requires conception after joining, and international contracts generally apply a waiting period. Pregnancy follow-up and delivery are planned in an equipped facility, after confirming with the insurer direct billing and the conditions of evacuation in the event of complications. People with a chronic illness carry a medical file translated into English, a prescription in international nonproprietary names and the contact details of their specialist in France, to make a teleconsultation or a transfer easier.

The Fijian Ministry of Health mentions a scheme for medical treatment abroad, a sign that some specialised care is not provided on site. For a foreign resident, this recourse goes first through the insurer: the assistance service assesses the file, chooses the receiving facility and organises the medical transport, which the French embassy does not finance. The contract must therefore specify the evacuation ceiling, the destination zone and the possibility of a return to France; the transport benefits of the CFE and those of an assistance contract are compared contract by contract. See repatriation and assistance.

Day to day, France Diplomatie recommends covering clothing, repellents, impregnated mosquito nets and removal of standing water; drinking only capped or purified water; swimming in supervised areas, away from reef currents; wearing closed shoes against envenomation and protecting yourself from sun and heat. After a bite or scratch, wash immediately with soap and water and then consult.

Cover is arranged before departure: the CFE, which reimburses abroad according to a scale by country with no waiting period if joining takes place before departure or within three months, or international insurance with direct billing and evacuation. See CFE or private insurance, expat health insurance and long-stay travel insurance. Expavy helps you compare these options with your profile through the online assessment. See also the page on living in Fiji and the country page.