Fiji Islands

Most of Fiji is classified in the middle income range with a per capita income just more than US $2000. This classification is partially due to extensive natural resources and sparse population densities.

Sugarcane is the major crop in Fiji and forms the backbone of the economy. Sugar and tourism are the main sources of foreign exchange earnings.

Social indicators of poverty are low meaning that education standards, health status, food and nutritional standards, and sanitation levels are all high. Visible poverty is not widespread partially because Fiji has a safety net system that provides a cushion for poorer individuals and households; this safety net system, based mostly on the Family Assistance Scheme, has functioned effectively since its establishment in 1975. This poverty alleviation program classifies the needy into six different groups (he elderly, the widowed, the chronically ill, deserted wives, the physically handicapped, and prisoners’ dependents); the needy are then given monthly supplements.

Fiji’s population that does lie under the poverty line (the level of income below which a household cannot meet its basic needs) is approximately 25.5% according to the most recent reports. This percentage increases slightly to 28% in rural settlements and urban squatter settlements. Most recent reports also show that Fiji has an employment rate between 7-9%.

About 60% of the poor households in Fiji earn their income from agriculture (including forestry and fishing) but in the last three decades agriculture output has been poor causing an increase in poverty levels; in fact, GDP in Fiji has been very slow to grow in the period 1970-2000. An increase in agricultural output would not only directly lead to a reduction in poverty, but it would reduce rural-urban migration leading to a lower level of poverty in the people flocking to urban centers.

Racial tensions between indigenous Fijians and non-indigenous Indo-Fijians have plagued the Fiji islands during and since post-colonial rule. Since a coup in 2000, racial tensions have continued to increase as policies have been implemented in favor of indigenous Fijians who comprise 50% of the Fijian population. Some of these policies include aiming much of the poverty alleviation programs and affirmative action movements towards indigenous Fijians. In recent years, some actions among Parliament and Cabinet members have attempted to balance the racial tensions between the indigenous population and Indo-Fijians. The restructuring of Cabinet membership is an example of an action to balance these tensions and did achieve some success.

Across the country, a major campaign has gained support against discrimination and violence towards women. Since the late 1990s, the government working with private organizations has stressed the importance of reporting crimes against women and has seen in increase in reports by 27%. This indicates an awareness of violence against women and an initiative to act against it.

The Fijian government prioritizes health care and believes that a healthy nation is an indicator of a strong and prosperous country. Therefore the Fijian government has taken steps to ensure health care and the elimination of life threatening diseases by spending more money on government provided health care services. The government has in place 900 village clinics, 124 nursing stations, 75 health centres, 19 sub-divisional medical centres and three divisional hospitals. The Fijian government accounts for 64. 7% of the total health care expenditure for the country.

Recent health reports show that previously fatal diseases such as polio, tetanus and diphtheria are under control if not eliminated as a potential health problem for the population. Respiratory diseases, which topped the list of fatalities in the last 25 years, are also under control. This helps to create an overall life expectancy ranges from 67.3 to 72.3 years of age and a low infant mortality rate at about 1.23% across the country.

In regards to the worldwide AIDS epidemic, the adult HIV prevalence rate in Fiji is about 0.1% with less than 200 deaths at the time of the most recent health survey; the low prevalence rate of AIDS does not make the disease a top priority of domestic health care.

With many of the life-threatening diseases under control, Fiji now faces an effort to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Cancer and heart disease are the two leading causes of death in Fiji and the government is promoting health awareness programs to slow the increasing fatality rate of these diseases.

The main environmental challenges that Fiji faces are deforestation, soil erosion, and pollution. Over the last 20 years, over 30% of the forest has been eliminated by commercial interests for agricultural use and to accommodate growing populations. According to scientists, deforestation contributes to global warming and global pollution because there are fewer trees to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and rid the atmosphere of pollutants. Deforestation is also a cause of another environmental issue in Fiji: soil erosion. With the lack of vegetation to hold it in place, hillside soil quickly erodes and flows into water sources harming living organisms in the water. The value and richness of soil is lost as bare soil hardly contains substantial nutrients; the bare soil also contributes to flooding because the soil can no longer absorb as much water. Fiji also suffers from rising ocean water levels, perhaps due to global warming and worldwide pollution.

The natural environment of Fiji is protected by the National Trust which was established to create national parks and conserve Fiji’s landscape, reefs, water, and indigenous flora and fauna. Recent reports reveal that 64 of 1600 species of plants are endangered; 4 species of mammals, 9 types of birds, and 6 reptiles are also considered endangered.

Although education in Fiji is not compulsory, it is provided for free for the first eight years of schooling. The availability of education contributes to Fiji’s 93.7% literacy rate.

The government emphasizes education as the key to a bright future of Fijians citizens and promotes education programs that will provide the citizens with a good education in order to not only become responsible and informed citizens, but also to be able to provide human resource for the labor market.

Recent reports reveal that 99% of primary-school-age children are enrolled in school; about 71% of those enrolled continue to secondary school (including technical and vocational schools), and 21% continue further to tertiary levels of education.

The University of the South Pacific, located in Suva, attracts students from many Pacific states since its founding in 1968. USP is the premier provider of tertiary education and a center for international education excellence in the Pacific region with enrollment of over 16,000 students in recent years focusing its curriculum on regional needs.

Many schools are government funded public schools; private schools are operated by individual groups or missions with the consent of the government but there is no single authority owning individual schools. Although there is an Education Department that centralizes curriculum, registration, and recruitment of teachers; the schools are owned by community or other authorities. This enables each authority to adapt and react responsively to economic, environment, and social needs for the school on an individual basis not a district or state wide basis. For example, in times of economic hardship, a community will come together to raise money for the education of the community’s children. This system is considered a strength of the Fijian education system especially because it also emphasizes parental involvement and the importance of education at all levels.

Fiji Environment Action Group
Enable rural communities in Fiji to:
a) understand their stewardship roles & responsibilities;
b) appreciate the impact of their actvities and lifestyle on the natural environment; and
c) develop sustainable landuse options
in a participative manners that maximizes the benefits to them.

Rotary Club of Ba Project: Ba Rotary Village - To develop a self sustaining environment friendly Village mainly for the poor with ample employment opportunities and micro enterprises for povery alleviation and happy living.

Field Work Assistant Fiji - Come and help us to survey and protect the pristine reefs of Fiji. We aim to create a World Heritage site with the information we produce for the National Trust for Fiji. No experience is necessary as we provide all training including Diver training to PADI Advanced.

Research Volunteer- Fiji - CCC's conservation projects in Fiji, Honduras, Egypt and the Philippines last for 2 – 12 weeks, sometimes longer. Expeditions depart monthly throughout the year. Volunteers will get the opportunity to contribute to reef and forest conservation projects and will gather data that feed directly into conversation management processes. CCC expeditions provide full training in surveying, expedition life, and scuba diving.

Student World Assembly - is looking for volunteers with a strong interest in Global
Democracy and Human Rights to research schools in their area and recruit members for
the organization. This will only apply to interested persons who wish to carry out
volunteer work in their immediate area.