Support for Fiji's meningococcal outbreak

  • Joint media release

The Australian Government is assisting the Government of Fiji to respond to a recent meningococcal outbreak.

At Fiji's request, Australia is providing $1 million for the procurement of around 75,000 doses of the vaccine. On 14 May 2018, Fijian officials began the first phase of their vaccination program, targeting around 125,000 children from high-risk groups to contain the outbreak. The second phase of the vaccination rollout will take place over the next three months, targeting 200,000 Fijian's aged between one and 19 years old.

Through Australia's Pacific regional health security initiatives, we are supporting organisations such as WHO, UNICEF, and the South Pacific Community (SPC) that are providing technical support to the Fiji Government to plan, resource, and execute its national response to the meningococcal disease outbreak. Our support for the vaccination campaign forms part of our ongoing work to assist Fiji to strengthen its national health systems.

Fiji is a close neighbour and a popular tourist destination for Australians. In 2017, around 350,000 Australians visited Fiji. We encourage Australians to visit Smart Traveller on the DFAT website before travelling.

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