Fiji facing NCD crisis - Usamate

87% of deaths in Fiji are premature deaths and are due to Non-Communicable Diseases.

This has been revealed by the Minister for Health Jone Usamate while giving his ministerial statement in parliament today.

Usamate says that anyone that dies below the age of 60 is categorized as premature.

Usamate says NCDs and climate change is Fiji’s major crisis and that we are in the midst of these crisis.

He says that the four major risk factors that impact on NCD are smoking of tobacco, excess of sugar, salt, oil in people’s daily meals, excessive alcohol, and lack of exercising.

Usamate adds that these risk factors lead to four life style behaviors that leads into an increase of blood pressure, blood sugar, blood cholesterol and body mass.

He says that statistics of premature deaths is shocking, and is something that the government and the people of Fiji needed to work on.