New Zealand support to limit dengue fever in Fiji

New Zealand will contribute $2.7 million to help limit dengue fever in Fiji, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.

“Dengue fever is a debilitating and sometimes fatal mosquito-borne disease which has affected more than 38,000 people in the Pacific since the beginning of 2017,” Mr Peters says.

“The funding will go to the World Mosquito Programme, which uses natural, effective and self-sustaining methods that limit the ability of mosquitoes to spread the illness. These methods are currently in use across four continents.

“The New Zealand contribution will expand the geographic scope of World Mosquito Programme efforts in Fiji from the Suva region to include more than 120,000 people in other areas, including Nadi and Lautoka.

“The contribution to the World Mosquito Programme effort is a recognition of the importance of the Fiji-New Zealand relationship, the need to address issues of communicable disease on a regional level, and that improving the health of people in the Pacific is a priority for New Zealand,” Mr Peters says.

 The programme will be implemented in partnership with the Government of Fiji with the initial programme activities beginning in May 2018.