Project 1: Community Palliative Care Program (CPCP)

Timeframe: July 2023 – June 2024

Location: Western Division

Project 2:  Cancer Education and Awareness 

Timeframe: Dec 2022- July 2023

Location: central, northern, western division

Focus Areas: Women’s Coalition for Change & Eliminating violence against women and girls.

Fiji Cancer Society was founded in 1993 and is the national cancer centre in Fiji. It has established 3 main committees to represent the different activities offered by the Society: cancer education and health promotion, patient support services and finance and development.

Fiji Cancer Society`s prime role is advocacy awareness and patient support. A Cervical Cancer Task Force was established by the Cancer Education Committee top address cancer of the cervix, the most common form of cancer in Fiji, followed by breast cancer. In 1993, Fiji Cancer Society was accepted as associate member with UICC.

Project title: Community Palliative Care Programme
Project date: May 2021 – April 2022
Grant Value: FJD $150,000
Focus area: Ending violence against women

About the project

Fiji Cancer Society focuses on health and wellness, early detection and prevention supported by strategic partnerships to be able to reduce the impact of cancer. The Society currently has over 680 registered cancer patients who are dependent on vital services such as medicines that are not listed under the free government medical scheme, consumables such as stoma bags, diapers, medical oxygen and to name a few.

In Fiji, most female cancer patients and survivors go through immense stress and social issues such as loss of self-esteem, stigma, emotional and psychosocial crisis in general. This is true for newly diagnosed cancer patients as well. Since Fiji’s heath care system is already stretched beyond its capacity, there is a lack of supportive care which is crucial towards the patient’s pathway to holistic recovery and longevity

The Fiji Cancer Society through a grant from the Fund will implement a Community Palliative Care Program. The project will also include activities such as procurement of palliative kits and supplies, a review of their Training Manual on non-clinical palliative care, setup of MEL systems and organisational strengthening.