The Health Ministry is increasing their focus on promoting wellness rather than just treating illness.
Director Planning and Policy, Muniamma Gounder says with the increased number of non-communicable diseases recorded amongst Fijians, the Ministry believes this is the way forward.
Gounder says the Ministry recorded 64 percent of Fijians with NCD’s between January and July 2016.
“In terms of addressing NCD’s we’re also taking a community based approach in going to school and community settings, where we are trying to advocate for healthy behavior in those settings because that’s an effective way in addressing health issues at a much earlier stage.”
Gounder says another important contributing factor in reducing the rate of NCDs is the role of a dietician.
She adds the Ministry is working towards employing more dieticians by 2019.
