Dr. Rajesh Sharma

Dr. Rajesh Sharma is a senior internist at Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWM), Fiji's national referral hospital in Suva, and holds a consulting practice at Pacific Private Hospital. With 18 years of experience in internal medicine, Dr. Sharma has dedicated his career to managing the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Fiji and the broader Pacific region.

Fiji, like many Pacific island nations, faces extremely high rates of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Sharma's work addresses this epidemic through direct patient care, community health education programmes, and involvement in Fiji's national NCD strategy. He leads the Diabetes and Metabolic Disease Clinic at CWM Hospital and has trained numerous nurses, community health workers, and junior medical officers in NCD management protocols.

Dr. Sharma is trilingual in English, Fijian, and Hindi, reflecting the diverse linguistic communities he serves across Fiji's Indo-Fijian and iTaukei (indigenous Fijian) populations. He is a respected medical voice in Fiji's health policy discussions and advises the Fiji Ministry of Health on diabetes care standards.

Dr. Sharma completed his MBBS at the Fiji School of Medicine (now the University of Fiji Medical School), a leading medical training institution serving the Pacific region. He undertook postgraduate training in internal medicine and achieved Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (MRCP UK), a globally recognised specialist qualification.

He completed a Diploma in Endocrinology through the University of the South Pacific (USP) and has participated in advanced diabetes management programmes through the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and WHO Pacific Office. He undertook a clinical attachment at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Australia, focusing on endocrinology and diabetic foot management.

Dr. Sharma's core clinical expertise lies in the comprehensive management of type 2 diabetes, including complex insulin regimen optimisation, diabetic complication screening (retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and foot disease), and the management of hyperglycaemic emergencies. He has particular expertise in managing diabetes in pregnant women and in patients with concomitant chronic kidney disease.

In hypertension and cardiovascular risk management, Dr. Sharma applies evidence-based protocols adapted for the Pacific health context, addressing the high prevalence of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and gout among Pacific islanders. He also manages thyroid conditions, dyslipidaemia, and chronic kidney disease, often as comorbidities in his NCD patient population.

Dr. Sharma is dedicated to serving Pacific island communities through clinical research that addresses the region's NCD burden. He has contributed to published studies in the Pacific Journal of Medical Sciences and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health examining diabetes prevalence, treatment gaps, and outcomes in Fiji. He has presented at the Pacific Health Ministers Meeting and the WHO Pacific NCD Summit.

He collaborates with the Fiji Ministry of Health, University of the South Pacific, and international partners including the World Diabetes Foundation on community-based NCD prevention programmes. His work on community health worker-led diabetes screening has been cited in WHO Pacific NCD reports.

As Fiji is the primary referral hub for specialist medical care throughout the Pacific, Dr. Sharma sees patients from Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Samoa, Tonga, and other Pacific island nations who cannot access specialist internal medicine care at home. CWM Hospital has established referral pathways with health authorities in these nations.

Dr. Sharma offers video consultations to support ongoing management of Pacific patients who have returned home after a visit to Fiji, facilitating continuity of diabetes and hypertension care through liaison with local health officers. His multilingual ability facilitates clear communication with diverse Pacific patient communities.

Dr. Sharma has received the Fiji Medical Association Distinguished Service Award and recognition from the Fiji Ministry of Health for his contributions to the national diabetes care programme. He was appointed a WHO Pacific Technical Advisory Group member for NCDs and received the Pacific Community (SPC) Health Excellence Commendation for his community diabetes education work.