The Frank Hilton Organisation has reported a significant increase in the number of children requiring support, with cases rising by 25 percent annually.

The Chief Executive Officer Sureni Perera says, more of these cases are identified during special awareness months, when the need for early intervention and support is highlighted.

The Frank Hilton Organisation plays a crucial role in supporting children with disabilities and developmental challenges in Fiji.

Perera says the number of children accessing their services increases by 25 percent each year.

“We see trends closer to our awareness month, we see a huge serge in cases coming in with that disabilities awareness. When it comes to Cerebral palsy month, we again children being refer to us. So I can’t say there is consistent pattern”, she said.

She says they have noted a new trend of children under the age of six coming to the organisation earlier, which she described as a positive development.

“The successes of our program is we have now seen a trend of children coming earlier from 0 to 2 years old, and cases from 3 to 4 years old, as oppose to children coming in much later. Historically, we used to have children coming in at about 10, 13 14 or sometimes about 18 years old,”she said.

“That is a good indicator that there is a lot of awareness out there on the importance of detection and early intervention”, she added.

Government has allocated $900,000 to the Frank Hilton Foundation this year.

Perera expressed appreciation for this support but adds that additional resources are needed to meet the growing demand for services.

“Government is doing what is possible, however there is a lot more that can be done, but also if you look at other competing priorities, it is hard to choose. I’m not speaking on behalf of government, I’m just assuming that there are many areas that require finding, and everybody is being provided equally, but there is a lot to do”, she said.

“Even if it is not in terms of funding, we can look at the policy landscape, understanding what inclusion is, what are the precondition of inclusion, looking at changing mindset and attitude. There is much more that can be done and should be done”, she added.

The Frank Hilton Organisation continues to advocate for greater awareness and resources to address the needs of children with disabilities and developmental challenges across Fiji.