Fiji’s navigates pediatric palliative care amid limited resources
- Admin
- Jul 7
- 2 min read
By Ron Rocky Coloma
When Dr. Savenaca Seduadua first saw the 3-year-old boy with medulloblastoma, the child was barely conscious. His seizures had returned. The family had crossed islands to reach Lautoka Hospital.
“The disease had progressed,” Dr. Savenaca Seduadua said. “We couldn’t do more than relieve his pain. But he passed peacefully. That was something.”
Dr. Savenaca Seduadua is one of only a few general pediatricians in Fiji. On any given day, he rotates between neonatal intensive care, outpatient clinics and, increasingly, pediatric palliative care.
Fiji’s health infrastructure spans over 300 islands, yet only three hospitals offer specialist services. Many remote areas depend solely on nursing stations, often with no doctors on site. “Our buildings are old. Our equipment is limited.
Morphine, at one point, ran out completely,” Dr. Savenaca Seduadua said during a regional webinar, “Caring Beyond Cure: Pediatric Palliative Care in the Pacific.”
He highlighted the role of culture in Pacific care systems. “When a child is ill, it’s not just the parents at the bedside,” he said. “It’s grandparents, cousins, aunties. We call it Talanoa — a circle of open dialogue.”
That circle now includes WOWS Kids Fiji, a grassroots charity co-founded by Sina Kami after the death of her 15-year-old daughter, Tae Kami, in 2008. Before she died, Tae Kami wrote a song called “Walk On Walk Strong.” It became WOWS’ name, motto and mission.
“She told us, ‘Use my song to help others,’” Sina Kami said. “So, we did.”
WOWS now supports children with cancer and life-limiting illnesses across Fiji. The group provides counseling, diapers, wound care and hospital transport. When medications run out, WOWS steps in. “We cover $4,000 to $5,000 a month in taxi costs just to get children to treatment,” Sina Kami said. “People ask us why we do the government’s job. It’s because the children can’t wait.”
That urgency drives recent training efforts. In 2023, Dr. Savenaca Seduadua and other Pacific Island clinicians attended a three-day pediatric palliative care course in New Zealand. There, they were introduced to “The Green Book,” a practical guide now used across the region.
Despite progress, challenges remain. Fiji has no national palliative care policy. Many healthcare workers still see palliative care only as end-of-life support. “We have to change the perception,” Dr. Savenaca Seduadua said. “Palliative care can go hand in hand with curative treatment.”
Back in Suva, Sina Kami keeps her daughter’s message alive. “She said, ‘Have faith. I’ve left the tools,’” Sina Kami said. “And I believe she did. When I feel tired, I hear her voice in that song. Telling me to walk on. And walk strong.”
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