HEALTHCARE personnel have been meeting for three days in New Caledonia to look at ways to help out the struggling sector.
Gathering at Nouméa City Hall, participants acknowledged the sobering reality of things: rising chronic diseases, an ageing population, surging addictions among youth, caregiver shortages, costly medical evacuations, and fragile social finances.
“The goal is not to produce a catalog of measures,” said Christopher Gygès, government member responsible for the budget. “I hope we can implement achievable, priority, and sustainable actions.”
Over three days, doctors, caregivers, hospital management, private practitioners, unions, government officials, and users will focus on three main areas: making health professions more attractive, reorganising care delivery, and ensuring financial sustainability.
While the project draws inspiration from France’s post-health-crisis, local crises have since made matters worse for an already struggling health sector — COVID-19, economic downturn, the declining nickel sector, financial strains, and the 2024 riots.
“The year 2025 was dedicated to emergencies,” said Claude Gambey, government member in charge of health.
“This year, we are dedicated to restructuring.”
Gambey painted a worrying picture: nearly 50,000 New Caledonians are treated for long-term illnesses at an estimated cost of 40 billion francs a year. He also highlighted risky youth behaviour, including high tobacco use, screen addiction, and rising e-cigarette consumption.
More than a thousand medical evacuations to Australia occur annually, costing around five billion francs.
“Savings is not a dirty word,” Gygès told the conference, suggesting better distribution of labour between public and private facilities and reducing administrative burdens on caregivers.
Health workers deserve recognition, he said: “Whether you are stretcher-bearers or surgeons, you save lives every day.”
Source: Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes
