Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is concerned about the health of all Fijians in particular about the looming cases of non-communicable diseases.
In parliament today, Bainimarama said NCDs that are of major concern are diabetes and hypertension.
He says these health tragedies are preventable and Fijians must take care of their health and prevent these diseases while we can.
Bainimarama highlighted a Diabetes Fiji report that one Fijian experiences diabetes related amputation every 12 hours and one third of them don’t know they have the disease until they are seen by a doctor and are forced to face the loss of a limb.
“This is an unacceptable situation diabetes is only one health challenge amongst many facing our medical system. The state of affairs indicates that people are not well enough informed and are not seeing doctors often enough so that diseases can be discovered and treated before it is too late.”
Bainimarama says the government is investing in improving hospitals and advising the public about important health issues including diabetes
