Mereseini Vuniwaqa

In September 2014, Vuniwaqa was appointed to Cabinet by the Prime Minister as the Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, becoming the first Fijian woman appointed to the position. In 2015, Vuniwaqa facilitated and received Cabinet approval for the upgrade of the Fiji Geodetic Datum to a more current internationally recognized system.[11] This was instigated following the adoption of the United Nations General Assembly resolution on Global Geodetic Reference Frame for Sustainable Development in February 2015 which was led by the Republic of Fiji.[12]

In a Cabinet reshuffle in September 2016, Vuniwaqa was appointed as the Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, a portfolio that she continues to hold since her re-election in 2018. In this position, Vuniwaqa has introduced and rolled out a number of strategic and key reforms with an unprecedented whole of government spotlight on advancing gender equality as well as strengthening the Fijian social protection delivery system and the relevant policy setting which attracted significant international assistance.

In March 2018, Vuniwaqa launched the development and roll-out of the Service Delivery Protocol (SDP) to improve referral and coordination of response services for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) to ensure GBV survivors' access to more timely and better coordinated quality response services, particularly those living in rural and remote areas."The initiative focusses on the development of interagency, multi-sectoral national Standard Operating Procedures for response, referral and coordination of gender-based violence (GBV) services."[13]

In January 2020, Vuniwaqa announced that Fiji embark on an historic mission to develop a National Action Plan (NAP) to Prevent Violence Against all Women and Girls (2021-2026), making it the first Pacific Island Country, and one of the only two countries globally along with Australia, to have a whole of government and whole of community, inclusive, evidence-based approach to prevent violence against women and girls. Fiji is at present in the national consultation phase.[14] The national consultation aims to consult with at least 2,500 women, men and youth in all their diversities from across the 13 settings and sectors. NAP is expected to be developed in December 2021.

In 2021, Vuniwaqa sought and received Cabinet approvals for the development of the Fiji Country Gender Assessment (CGA)[15]- the first in the Pacific as well as a Gender Transformative Institutional Capacity Development initiative (ICD).[16] The Fiji Country Gender Assessment intends to inform on the status of all women and girls in Fiji and provide a comprehensive overview of gender issues in various sectors and critical areas. The CGA is expected to be completed by December 2021.[15] The Gender Transformative Institutional Capacity Development initiative aims to create an enabling environment to ensure integration of all women and girls' needs, interests, concerns, contributions and perspectives into policies, strategies, programs and budgets with the establishment of effective coordination mechanisms as well as enhancing technical knowledge, competence and resources on transformative gender mainstreaming across government institutions.[17] In an official press statement in 2020, Vuniwaqa highlighted that a gender transformative approach requires looking beyond the symptoms of gender inequality but addressing the underlying causes rooted in discriminatory gender social norms and behaviors and unequal power relations.

On 6 August 2021, Vuniwaqa resigned from her party Fiji First citing "personal reasons and new opportunities".[2] Following her vacant seat, she was replaced by Sachida Nand.[18]