SPC calls for urgent action on NCDs

Transcript

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community says urgent action is needed to prevent diabetes, heart disease and cancer which account for 70 percent of deaths in the Pacific region.

The SPC's deputy director of Public Health says Pacific countries dominate the world's top ten countries for obesity and diabetes.

Dr Paula Vivili told Jenny Meyer, Pacific Directors of Health met this week in Fiji to consider how best to respond to the non-communicable disease crisis in the Pacific.

DR PAULA VIVILI: The meeting brought together 20 representatives from 20 out of the 22 Pacific Island countries. And they endorsed all the papers that were presented and are obviously very supportive in all the efforts to address these issues of non communicable diseases; of prevalence and outbreak response and also sexual health and well being set agenda. So in taking this forward the NCD work will go to the joint Forum Economic Ministers meeting and Health Ministers meeting and the other issues will go back to the regional agencies to work with the countries to improve these issues in their respective countries.

JENNY MEYER: And do you think that the public support these kind of meetings and that they will get behind any changes or do you think really that it's down to legislation to change people's behaviour?

PV: Legislation is certainly part of the equation. And the experience in Pacific countries is that legislation helps, education and health promotion helps. So really I don't think it's one solution. It's a combination of behaviour change effort, in addition to making the environment more conducive to behaviour change and sometimes legislation can be part of that.

JM: And overall do you think that Pacific people are becoming more unhealthy every year or do you think things are starting to change and people are starting to realise that as family members get sick that perhaps everyone needs to do more to improve their own personal health?

PV: I think certainly Pacific people understand that they are not a very healthy population. Most Pacific people understand that there needs to be change. In terms of figures that we are finding; we are finding encouraging signs in some areas. For instance smoking seems to be coming down in many countries. But if we're looking at other areas for instance such as diabetes; that's something that's still to increase. So knowledge is I think changing for the better, attitudes as well are changing for the better. But if you're looking at behaviour, that's changing but that will take a bit longer for its effects to show. I mean as I mentioned earlier, non communicable diseases take a long time to manifest and change at the population level. At the personal and individual levels it may be quicker to manifest. But looking at population change, it's going to be a long haul and this is what people need to be prepared for.

Dr Vivili says the four strategies planned to prevent lifestyle diseases are strengthening tobacco control, taxing unhealthy foods, targetting health resources and improving research.