[Source: Fiji Government/ Facebook]

Over 25 percent of the population now resides in informal settlements, presenting significant challenges in meeting housing demands, says Minister for Local Government and Housing Maciu Nalumisa.

He highlighted this during the RISE symposium, which focuses on addressing the pressing challenges of informal settlements by improving sanitation and health outcomes for thousands of residents.

Nalumisa states that the government has committed one million dollars in the 2024–25 budget to support the program’s expansion and improve sanitation in six informal settlements around Suva.

Minister for Local Government and Housing Maciu Nalumisa. [Source: Fiji Government/ Facebook]

The Minister says there is a critical need to address the challenges faced by communities lacking access to essential services such as sanitation, water, and adequate housing.

“The RISE program aims to eliminate the risk of exposure to contamination or reduce the community’s risk to exposure to contamination by at least 80%. This is done by treating wastewater in this community and reducing exposure by alleviating flooding and reducing interventions that disrupt the pathway of pathogens from the environment to humans.”

Nalumisa also highlighted the Ministry’s ongoing institutional reforms, including a review of the 2011 National Housing Policy, to address the rapid growth of urban settlements.

“It’s very interesting to know now that more people are living in the urban areas than in the rural areas. And now we continue to receive a lot of complaints on people now going into lands that they don’t own to squatter and reside in those areas.”

Innovative water-sensitive solutions are being trialled in 13 urban informal settlements in Suva.

These initiatives carried out in partnership with the RISE program, aim to improve access to clean water and sanitation for approximately 3,600 residents.