The fact that over 80 per cent of mortality in Fiji is attributed to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) should be a cause for concern.
Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete highlighted the figure during the Wellness and NCD consultation workshop at the Holiday Inn Suva on Monday.
Risk factors for NCDs, he reiterated, remained crucial for interventions at all levels.
According to Fiji STEPS survey in 2011, overweight or obese people were 66.9 per cent.
“Thirty six per cent of people had taken alcohol in the past 12 months,” he said while referring to the survey.
“Eighty-five per cent of our people ate less than five combined servings of fruits and vegetables in a day.”
The survey, he said, showed that 16.6 per cent of people smoked daily and 31 per cent of Fijians had high blood pressure.
Dr Waqainabete said stringent interventions were needed to address issues around physical activity, diet, smoking/alcohol abuse, injuries and drowning.
“These are the best buy initiatives that can help us achieve our targets of sustaining a healthy population, decreasing premature mortality, increasing productivity and ridding the nation of the socioeconomic burden of NCDs.”
STEPS is a household-based survey to obtain core data on the established risk factors that determine the major burden of NCDs.
Health Ministry head of Wellness Dr Devina Nand had said the non-financial cost of NCDs was immense.
She said it could take an emotional toll on people including family members.
We highlighted this earlier this month. We note the burden those living with NCDs had to endure. We are reminded about what the World Health Organization says about NCDs.
They kill 41 million people each year, which is equivalent to 71 per cent of all deaths globally. On its website, it states each year more than 15 million people die from a NCD between the ages of 30 and 69 years.
It revealed that 85 per cent of these ‘premature’ deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries and 77 per cent of all NCD deaths are in low-and middle-income countries.
The biggest killer, it notes, was cardiovascular disease which accounts for most NCD deaths, or 17.9 million people annually, followed by cancers (9.3 million), respiratory diseases (4.1 million), and diabetes (1.5 million).
Detection, screening and treatment of NCDs, as well as palliative care, are key components of the response to NCDs.
An important way to control NCDs, it states, is to focus on reducing the risk factors associated with the diseases. Low-cost solutions exist for governments and other stakeholders to reduce the common modifiable risk factors.
Monitoring progress and trends of NCDs and their risk, it says, is important for guiding policy and priorities.
But lest we forget, we also have a very important role to play in the fight against NCDs.
That should start with lifestyle changes. It will have to embrace diet considerations and physical activities.
So today we remind ourselves about these considerations, and why we should be vigilant when it comes to fighting NCDs.
