New Zealand COVID-19 Support
“New Zealand is committed to supporting our Pacific neighbours through this global pandemic.”These were the words of New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Nanaia Mahuta in one of several announcements of Aotearoa New Zealand’s support to Fiji.
From very early into this outbreak of COVID-19 in April 2021, New Zealand liaised closely with Fijian Government counterparts and civil-society partners to ensure we were responding to the most acute needs and priorities of Fiji.
Our partnerships with the Fijian Government, civil society organisations, and development partners such as Australia, have sought to assist the most vulnerable communities impacted by COVID-19. This has included NZ$40 million in emergency budget support in May 2021, tagged primarily for social support. We have supported organisations to deliver food, social protection and livelihood support to over 50,000 people from vulnerable, economically disadvantaged and at-risk households.
We continue to see that vaccines are vital to the protection of individuals from the virus, and for economic and social recovery. New Zealand funded 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine directly from the Spanish Government to meet Fiji’s immediate vaccine requirements. We also supported Fiji’s highly successful vaccine rollout, and will shortly be providing additional support for vaccinating those aged under-18.
Aotearoa New Zealand has sent two rotations of medical personnel to work alongside Fijian counterparts within the joint Australia New Zealand Medical Assistance Team. Our personnel provided surge clinical, logistical and public health support for the Fiji health system. The recruitment of 190 graduate nurses from Fiji also provided surge capacity, including at isolation facilities. We hoped the recruitment of these nurses would not only support Fiji’s response in the short term, but also contribute to the long-term resilience of the health sector.
We are also proud to have delivered oxygen support to the Fiji Ministry of Health via CureKids New Zealand; emergency response vehicles; additional PCR testing machine and supplies; privacy screens for use in isolation facilities; and 23 tonnes of PPE deployed directly from New Zealand.
The Delta variant has made the landscape ever more challenging, but Aotearoa New Zealand continues to stand alongside Fiji to weather this storm together.