WHO concerned about 'alarming' death rate in Pacific
Updated
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says something has to be done in the Pacific to tackle the alarming death rate from diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
The WHO's Dr Temo Waqanivalu says up to 80 per cent of people in the Pacific die from one of these three diseases and it is primarily tobacco, alcohol and substance abuse, obesity and poor diet that causes them
He says the World Health Organisation has noted that people are dying before their retirement age so it is not only a health issue but an economic one as well.
Dr Waqanivalu has made the comments at a three-day health conference underway in the Northern Marianas, which aims to develop a five-year plan to prevent non-communicable diseases through education and better health policies.
