During a Visiting Medical Team trip to Fiji, supported through the New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme, patients recovering from oral and facial cancer received life-changing maxillofacial surgery and custom-made prosthetics, including jaws, teeth, and facial devices. These interventions play a critical role in helping patients eat, speak, and regain confidence following cancer treatment.

Equally important was the focus on building long-term local capability. Visiting specialists worked alongside Fijian clinicians and technicians, providing hands-on training and ongoing mentorship to strengthen maxillofacial and prosthetic services within Fiji’s health system.

As local oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr Inosi Salababa shared, the impact of this work goes beyond the operating theatre by improving quality of life and enabling patients to return to society as active and productive members of their communities.

This World Cancer Day, we recognise the value of purposeful partnerships and Visiting Medical Teams that deliver specialist care while ensuring knowledge, skills, and services remain within Pacific communities long after the visit ends.