SUVA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- About 313 babies have died at various health centers and hospitals around the South Pacific Island state of Fiji over the last two years.

According to Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) on Thursday, Fiji's Minister for Health and Medical Services Rosy Akbar confirmed the reports by saying that the deceased were all under the age of one year.

During 2016 and 2017, 63 infants lost their lives in Fiji due to pneumonia, 61 due to foetal death of unspecified cause, 39 due to bacterial sepsis followed by other diseases, the minister said.

Her medical staff have undertaken procedures to reach out and consult families in a progressive manner, she said, adding that when a death occurs and the family complains to her ministry, they have procedures in place such as family conferencing to explain the preliminary cause of death followed by an internal investigation. Once the investigation is complete, the root cause analysis finding is then revealed to the family by the ministry.

The minister stressed that the Fijian government continues to focus on improving services to mothers and children.

These infant death statistics is very high for the island nation with a population of more than 880,000.