Uto Bulabula - Healthy Hearts: Innovative Children's Health Project Set To Save Lives In Fiji

Fourteen children from four Pacific countries will receive life-saving paediatric cardiac surgery in Fiji this month, through an innovative new initiative under the New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme (NZMTS).

Funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and coordinated by the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Group, the Uto Bulabula - Healthy Hearts initiative will bring 35 doctors, nurses, and technicians from New Zealand’s Hearts4Kids Foundation to Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children's Hospital in Suva to deliver critical cardiac care to children as young as 7-months-old.

It will be the largest mission undertaken in the history of the New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme, which has been facilitating life-saving care for people in Pacific countries for over 30 years.

PMA Group has managed the New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme since December 2022. PMAG CEO, Debbie Sorensen, says the Uto Bulabula – Healthy Hearts initiative was developed after discussions with partner countries revealed a regional healthcare gap that called for a regional solution.

“When we asked each of our Pacific country partners about their priorities for their funding allocation under the NZMTS, most of them told us that there was a significant need for paediatric cardiology care. But they also recognised that bringing children to New Zealand for cardiac care is incredibly expensive.

“Their insights provided us with an opportunity to collaborate with partner countries and organisations to take a regional approach to provide life-saving care for Pacific children who would otherwise not be able to access it,” she said.

Children from Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tuvalu will receive treatment in Suva under the Uto Bulabula - Healthy Hearts initiative this year.

Dr Kirsten Finucane, former Head of Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery at Starship and Auckland Hospitals, will lead the volunteer Hearts4Kids medical team, which has been treating children in Fiji since 2014.

She described how the Uto Bulabula – Healthy Hearts initiative will help to grow Heart4Kids’ reach across the region, in a Pacific-led way.

"It has always been a dream that we could try and get children from other Pacific countries into Fiji for treatment. The project has a huge amount of value.

“It makes much more sense for us now, that we can be directed by an organisation that is Pacific-led, so that Pacific peoples themselves can start to let us know what they want and how they want it done,” she said.

Another key partner in the Uto Bulabula – Healthy Hearts initiative is the Sai Prema Foundation. Its hospital, Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children's Hospital, is generously providing its facilities for these crucial surgeries.

Hospital Director, Dr Krupali Tappoo, highlighted the contribution that initiatives like Uto Bulabula – Healthy Hearts can make towards strengthening in-country and regional health systems, and addressing health disparities in the Pacific.

“We are challenged because we don't have all the specialists available locally. That's why having visiting teams that come from around the world is important,” she said.

Debbie Sorensen agrees.

"By bringing together the expertise of international and local healthcare professionals, we are not only offering life-saving surgeries, but also bolstering the capacity of Pacific healthcare systems to meet regional needs long-term.”

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