THE Minister for Health is trying to optimise and improve the delivery of health services in Fiji.
Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma said this would be possible by taking on new approaches such as moving away in to Primary Health Care mode and looking at wellness rather than just health promotion.
"We are advocating health as a right to everybody and responsibility of everybody in the community," he said.
"We are spearheading with our community health workers so that we get down to the basics in the maritime area and in to settlements and villages."
Dr Sharma said they also encouraged health workers to work closely with village headman and form committees so that they could look at the lifestyle of the people and improve on it.
He said the ministry was moving towards achieving the Millennium Development of Goals of reducing child mortality and the high incidence of pneumonia and diarrhoea by 2015.
He said the ministry would need people to take responsibility of their lives as they played a pivotal role in creating a healthy environment for the future generation.
"But all this will work well if society understands that they have a responsibility where they must address the issues of eating right and being able to exercise regularly," he said.