The Secretariat of the Pacific Community is to embrace a new public health strategy called 'Healthy Island - Healthy People'.
On Wednesday, the strategy was endorsed by the SPC's governing body, the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations, at its annual meeting in Suva.
The SPC's director of health, Dr Colin Tukuitonga, says the new scheme aims to give the regional organisation a sharper focus in dealing with major health issues in the region.
He says the SPC needed to identify where it could be most useful in terms of health support and they have identified three key areas.
"Obviously NCDs[ non communicable diseases] is a big one. Second one is around sexually transmitted infections and the third one is around continuing surveillance of outbreaks such as dengue and so on. I mean you might say they are the same old things, that's true, but it's been really trying to identify where we can have the most value."
The SPC's director of health, Dr Colin Tukuitonga
