The Pacific Community, in close collaborations with Pacific Nutritionists, recently published the Pacific guidelines for healthy living to help provide guidance on healthy diets and lifestyle choices.

World No Tobacco Day falls on 31 May every year, highlighting the health and other risks associated with tobacco use, and promoting effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. It is a grim fact that tobacco use kills seven million people every year.

Despite some successes in bringing down smoking rates in some Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), the Pacific continues to have some of the highest smoking rates in the world. Approximately half of the adult population smokes daily in Kiribati, Tokelau, Nauru, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, and Wallis and Futuna.

On 14 November, the Pacific Community (SPC) joins the world in commemorating World Diabetes Day (WDD). The theme of WDD 2017 is ‘Women and diabetes – our right to a healthy future’.

This year’s campaign promotes the importance of affordable and equitable access for all women at risk for, or living with, diabetes, to essential diabetes medicines and technologies and self-management education. It also highlights the need to strengthen their capacity to prevent type 2 diabetes.

The Pacific Community (SPC) Health Division launched a taro cookbook during a dinner held as part of the meeting of diabetes associations in Nadi on Wednesday, 20 September 2017. The cookbook shares taro-based recipes from several countries in the region and is designed to promote the nutritional quality of this food item along with the Pacific’s rich cooking traditions. Taro corms, stems and leaves are all edible and can be prepared in different ways depending on the country.

With this cookbook, you can invite taro and Pacific culture to your table!

Youth from Pacific Island countries and territories have gathered in Noumea, New Caledonia this week for a five-day media and communications training on Noncommunicable Diseases (NDCs). The training organized by the Pacific Community (SPC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office in Fiji with funding support from the Fond Pacific (France), developed the competence of youth groups from the Pacific ranging from 15-25 years old.

Tobacco kills around seven million people each year and remains the world’s leading preventable cause of death.

World No Tobacco Day is observed on this day each year as a reminder of the harmful risks associated with tobacco use, an opportunity to reflect on the challenges and progress made to reduce its consumption as well as a call for countries to prioritize and accelerate tobacco control efforts as part of their responses to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Photo entry demonstrating link between our environment and NCDs

“Having local fresh produce available for purchase makes it much easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Take your kids and grandkids to the store and have them help with the shopping so they learn about good choices,” recommends Annabel Lyman from Palau.

“I entered the contest because I am and have always been rather passionate about making healthy choices for my family,” she says.

Photo entry demonstrating link between our environment and NCDs

About non-communicable diseases

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – primarily heart disease, cancer, lung disease and diabetes – are the leading cause of death in the Pacific, with life expectancy declining in some Pacific Island countries as a result of NCD-related premature deaths.