1 Nov 2012

Health link in Tonga's Pacific Games plan

1:41 pm on 1 November 2012

Tonga's Internal Affairs Minister, Lord Vaea, says improving the health of all Tongans will be a goal of the country's Pacific Games organisers.

Tonga is to stage the 2019 Games.

They will cost 70 million US dollars with some of that earmarked for health and fitness programmes.

Tonga, like much of the Pacific, has a high death rate from non-communicable diseases, and Lord Vaea says the Games organisers see it as part of their role to try and get ordinary Tongans to exercise more.

"This is part of the actual development that we have with the health and sports and to people to react to it. And we are looking at your ten year olds where they'll be 16 or 17 years of age they should become fully fledged, not only competitors but as well good healthy Tongans in the future."

Tonga's Lord Vaea