80% of the medicine and syringes Fiji requires is manufactured in India which is why majority of it is purchased from there.
Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Health, Dr. Eloni Tora said they are now working on taking advantage of the 2005 Trade Agreement between India and Fiji so that medicine can be directly brought into Fiji.
Tora said currently medicine dispatched from India goes through major suppliers in Australia and New Zealand before reaching the country.
He said this is the reason why there is a shortage of medicine at times in Fiji.
However, he added the problem has not come up recently and their work is ongoing to avoid any such incidents in future.
Story by: Khusboo Singh
