Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says sports will be a conduit or a channel for the Government to continue to address issues like gender disparity, disability, youth empowerment and social inclusion.
Speaking at the Fiji Sports Awards in the weekend in Suva, Rabuka said initiatives like the Pacific Sports Partnership help create pathways for our young people, especially our women and girls.
Rabuka said the People’s Coalition Government will continue to invest in sports through modernizing and building more state-of-the-art sporting facilities.
“Government will invest in the development of our elite athletes and also boost our level of participation in sports and physical activities supported by technical specialists.”
“The National Sports Policy is being reviewed to promote the participation of all Fiji citizens irrespective of ethnicity, gender or physical and mental ability. The policy will set out our vision for sports for 2023 and beyond,” Rabuka said.
He also stated that well-founded research have concluded that regularly active individuals have lower mortality rates and there are health benefits of being physically active regardless of age, ethnicity, disability and socio-economic status.
Rabuka said to help build a more active nation, Government will continue to promote and develop sports and physical activities to address health issues, in particular, NCDs and obesity.
He added that a nation’s workforce needs to be healthy and fit in order to be productive and contribute to the society.
