An Auckland-based volunteer organisation has launched an online appeal to support a charitable heart hospital in Fiji that provides free cardiac treatment to Pacific patients, including children from Tonga.
The Kotahi Rau Manawa – One Hundred Hearts appeal, organised by One World One Family New Zealand, is being highlighted today, September 29, to mark World Heart Day.
The organisation’s chairperson, Sreyon Murthi, said its young volunteers, most of whom are university students, had come together to help Pacific families who may otherwise struggle to access specialist heart treatment.
The fundraising campaign supports the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Heart Hospital in Suva, which provides cardiac treatment without charging patients or their families.
The hospital was established initially as a specialist children’s cardiac facility but has expanded its services this year to include adults.
Recent figures show that 64 adult cardiac interventions were performed free of charge at the hospital, while another 232 adults received free specialist cardiac consultations and heart screenings.
The hospital says 489 children have received free heart surgery and more than 57,000 free echocardiograms had been carried out as of September 2026.
Murthi said the Auckland campaign was raising money to help meet the hospital’s ongoing costs for medicines and consumables required for cardiac procedures, including contrast dye, catheters, guidewires and stents.
Tongan Children Receive Lifesaving Surgery
Tonga joined the New Zealand-funded Uto Bulabula – Healthy Hearts regional programme in 2025, opening a pathway for Tongan children requiring specialist cardiac surgery to receive treatment at the hospital.
Among those treated were 13-year-old Tongan Aisea Lo’amanu and other children from Tonga who travelled to Fiji for surgery without their families being charged for the operations.
The programme is funded through New Zealand’s Medical Treatment Scheme and has brought together the Suva hospital, the Pasifika Medical Association and specialist cardiac teams from New Zealand and overseas.
The Fiji Government has previously described the hospital as the first specialist paediatric cardiac facility of its kind in the Pacific, established partly because overseas cardiac treatment was beyond the financial reach of many Pacific families.
Murthi said the principle behind the hospital was simple: there was no billing counter because families should not have to pay for caring for one another.
The Auckland appeal is seeking donations of any amount, with funds pooled to support the hospital’s cardiac programme.
World Heart Day is observed globally on September 29. This year’s campaign, “Don’t Miss a Beat,” focuses on recognising often-overlooked signs of cardiovascular disease and improving equitable access to prevention and treatment.
In New Zealand, Auckland’s Sky Tower is being illuminated red tonight to mark the occasion and raise awareness of heart disease.
