Focusing on NCDs

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Focusing on NCDs

It should be a concern that 77 per cent of deaths in Fiji were related to non-communicable diseases.

Our lives, it seems, are cut short by NCDs, and the question is what are we doing about it? A United Nations (UN) Pacific Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of COVID-19 in Fiji uncovered this shocking scenario.

It’s when you consider the impact of NCDs over the years, that one begins to wonder whether it should be listed as a shocker though. According to the report, by the end of 2020 the total prevalence of diabetes could, in the worst-case scenario, be at 30.3 per cent of Fiji’s population and this would significantly raise healthcare costs.

NCDs were causing premature (under 70 years of age) deaths in the country. Looking at the NCDs mortality rates, 34 per cent of deaths were because of cardiovascular diseases, 9 per cent because of cancer, 5 per cent because of chronic respiratory diseases and 22 per cent caused by diabetes.

We just have to look around us. Fijians are dying of these diseases.

The report said according to the World Health Organization, Fiji had reached crisis levels of the NCD burden before the onset of COVID-19 and it was critical to mitigate COVID-19’s impact — both for health and economic reasons.

In saying that, it was also a concern to note that NCDs are a major concern for the Fiji Police Force. Of the 20 deaths of police officers this year, 16 were related to NCDs.

According to the WHO, NCDs including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease are collectively responsible for almost 70 per cent of all deaths worldwide.

Almost three quarters of all NCD deaths, and 82 per cent of the 16 million people who died prematurely, or before reaching 70 years of age, occur in low and middle- income countries.

The rise of NCDs, the WHO says, has been driven by primarily four major risk factors: tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol and unhealthy diets.

The epidemic of NCDs, it suggests, poses devastating health consequences for individuals, families and communities, and threatens to overwhelm health systems.

The socio-economic costs associated with NCDs, it says, make the prevention and control of these diseases a major development imperative for the 21st century.

Urgent government action, it points out, is needed to meet global targets to reduce the burden of NCDs. What we have before us is a scenario that must be addressed urgently.

We can’t just pretend this will go away. We must actively engage in action that fights NCDs.

That will mean a wholesome approach to a healthier diet, and a change in our lifestyle.

Perhaps we could start with taking time out daily to do some exercises, maybe take a walk, understand and appreciate how food affects our body, and try to be part of the campaign to fight NCDs.

No one said it is going to be easy. However, we must start somewhere, and some day. Why can’t it be today?

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