The World Health Organisation says people in Fiji can still do more to combat rising depression rates.
Seven people died in Nasau Village, Koro Island, Fiji during Cyclone Winston which hit in February 2016 Photo: Supplied/Fiji Red Cross
The WHO estimates there are now more than 30,000 people in the country living with depression in the wake of Cyclone Winston, the worst storm in Fiji's recorded history.
The organisation's mental health officer for the Pacific region, Yataro Setoya, said that there was still a stigma attached to depression so many people don't want to seek help when they need it.
But he said people in the community could do more to encourage people suffering from the illness, to go get help.
"Fiji has been strengthening their mental health system and so compared to other Pacific Island countries because they are a little bit bigger and they also have done a lot over the years. They have developed a mental health app and mental health policy and also they have had a psychotic hospital but also they have developed stress management work in three different areas and also they have done a lot of training."
