EUROPEAN Union ambassador to the Pacific Andrew Jacobs says Fiji’s mortality rate of lower than 70 years is quite shocking.

He said much was needed to be done to improve this trend.

“Health is really central to everybody’s lives and it is a human right and we tend to forget that the right to health is fundamental,” he said.

“It’s a key element in equitable and sustainable growth and development including poverty reduction and I am really quite shocked to hear about the life expectancy in Fiji now.

“And certainly in some communities that is something that we need to work very hard to improve.”

He said there was a strong link between poverty and health.

“I was looking at the World Health Organization Constitution which enshrines the highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental right of every human being and this right to health includes access to timely, acceptable and affordable health care of appropriate quality.

“Yet, despite that around 100 million people around the world are pushed below the poverty line as a result of health care expenditure every year.”