ABOUT 40 per cent of Fiji’s population are dying before the age of 70 from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), while Type 1 diabetes has been diagnosed in a child as young as two in the Western Division.
In an interview at the Blue Brunch program yesterday Lautoka Diabetic Hub’s Dr Unaisi Veilawa said the figures highlighted the need for greater awareness, early detection and prevention of NCDs, particularly diabetes.
Dr Veilawa said diabetes was among the leading causes of NCD-related illness and deaths, alongside ischaemic heart disease.
She said the Blue Brunch program was targeting workplaces to encourage healthier lifestyles by helping workers understand their daily calorie requirements and the nutritional value of the food they consumed.
“At workplaces, we eat at the workplace, and brunch is the most common meal that we have,” she said.
“So, we have coined it as Blue Brunch, targeting workplaces.”
Dr Veilawa said the initiative also aimed to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes, which occurred when the body could no longer produce insulin.
“The condition was common among children and adolescents, although it could also be diagnosed in adults later in life.”
She said the Young Diabetes Fiji program, under Diabetes Fiji, was seeking greater support from businesses to help provide children with insulin, glucose monitoring machines and testing strips.
“Without insulin and these monitoring machines, they are not able to control their diabetes.
“They need to be injected daily, and without insulin they can die.”
Dr Veilawa said the youngest child diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the Western Division’s paediatric clinic was two years old.
