President Praises Life-Saving Heart Surgeries at Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital

Three families are celebrating this week after their children successfully underwent life-saving heart surgeries at the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital in Muanikau, Suva.

Viliame Luvuiwasa, Joshua Dausiga and Shyleen Kumar were among the young patients who received critical cardiac treatment, with the youngest just one year and six months old.

Officiating at the Gift of Life ceremony today, President His Excellency Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu commended the Chairman of the Sai Prema Foundation, Mahendra Tappoo, Mrs Maya Tappoo and fellow trustees for their vision and commitment in establishing the South Pacific’s first state-of-the-art superspeciality paediatric cardiac hospital.

The President said the children’s recovery stories demonstrated what compassion and collaboration can achieve in bringing hope and healing to families in Fiji and across the Pacific.

He also acknowledged the hospital’s surgical team, describing the successful operations as “nothing short of a miracle.”

“Ladies and gentlemen of the Surgical Team, you may not always be rewarded, but the greatest reward is seeing children like this smiling. This is what the world should be doing, understanding the needs of the people, most importantly those who are in great need,” President Lalabalavu said.

Over the past four years, the hospital has completed 445 life-saving surgeries for children from Fiji and several Pacific Island countries, including Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Christmas Island. More than 43,000 heart screenings have also been carried out across the region.

President Lalabalavu described the private, fee-free hospital as a vital hub of paediatric healthcare for Fiji and the Pacific and praised its future plans to establish a medical speciality educational institute and research centre.

Director of the Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital, Dr Krupali Tappoo, said the hospital operates as a “temple of healing,” built on compassion and service.

“You see so many people here today, and they are here because they love what they do. They love serving and helping our children,” she said.

The President later toured the hospital following the ceremony.