The Fiji Civil Society Organisations Alliance for Covid-19 Humanitarian Response is calling on government to release data to help groups provide an effective response to those hit by the Covid-19 crisis in the country.
Susan Grey of FEMLinkPacific. Photo: Supplied/FEMLinkPacific
The urgent request came amid daily record infections and deaths from the Delta variant of the virus - 636 new cases and six more deaths were confirmed by the Health Ministry yesterday.
NGO femLINKpacific executive director Susan Grey said their work has been made difficult without the release of clear amd detailed data.
"We just note the lack of disaggregated data for us from the government to make interventions, to help with support for civil societies and women's organisations," Grey said.
"We support diverse women and girls, we need to see that data, the impact, say for instance, the cases that we hear health secretary Dr James Fong announce, there is no data that basically breaks it down.
"And so we do not really know, apart from our constituents, our allies and the stories that we see, the monitoring that we do, the research pieces that we are able to do if we can, to be able to do some interventions so that we are able to support diverse women and girls."
The Fiji Women's Rights Movement (FWRM) executive director Nalini Singh echoed similar sentiments, and said detailed data, with gender and, perhaps, location, was very important at this stage.
"With the disaggregation, we'd get to know what exactly could be some of the issues that need to be addressed in order to make sure that everybody gets the vaccine, so this was some of the recommendations that we are putting forward and we hope this would be taken favourably," she said.
Fiji has 5776 active cases in isolation with 39 deaths reported, 37 from this latest outbreak that started in April.
Shamima Ali. Photo: Supplied/FWCC
Activist warns of population wipeout
Meanwhile, Fijians could be "wiped out" because the coronavirus has spiralled out of control in the country, a human rights activist has warned.
Shamima Ali, of the Women's Crisis Centre, said the Covid-19 crisis has revealed that the government is sticking its head in the sand by not wanting to discuss the issue.
Ali said the "leadership has failed the people miserably. Right now, there are Budget consultations, emails, statements being made, and nothing about Covid, we are not talking about Covid.
"We are going to be wiped out. There is no care whatsoever. There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel, nothing is under control. Everything is out of control as far as we can see."
The director of NGO FRIEND, Sashi Kiran, said the government needs to face facts.
"It needs to recognise that we are in a crisis and then we are able to consult our different partners together to see where the needs and resources need to be put in place," she said.
"Our donor partners will gladly be able to assist us in terms of social protection if we are going to go on lockdown for 14 days.
"Our health system needs support and it is very obvious."
Health secretary Dr James Fong said the ministry is working with some civil society organisations in conducting vaccination and community engagement initiatives.
Meawhile, New Zealand doctors, nurses and techicians are being asked if they're able to deploy to Fiji if needed.
An email has been circulated from the Ministry of Health's Pacific medical assistance team asking if there are any operating theatre staff who would be prepared to go for up to eight weeks.
It says they must be fully vaccinated.
Theatre staff are valued because they are able to operate ventilators.
There are already two New Zealand anaesethetists on the ground in Fiji.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says sending more people is a possibility but no decision has been made yet.
