Seven South Pacific countries have agreed to join a scheme designed to bring down the cost of medical drugs at a new pharmacy centre which opened in Suva in Fiji this week.
It purchases the drugs in bulk and gives a discount to regional countries at an affordable price.
The Japanese government has funded the construction of a new centre at a cost of US$10 million.
The Japanese ambassador in Suva says apart from Fiji, the countries which have agreed to purchase drugs through the centre are Niue, Nauru, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands.
