The Health Ministry’s head of wellness, Dr Devina Nand, says the total cost of NCDs, both indirect and direct, to the national economy is $591.41 million.
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Dr Nand made the statement in the Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Management (CRAM)/ Package of Essential NonCommunicable (PEN) Operational Guidelines for Fiji’s Primary Health Care Facilities, which was launched on Friday.
She said NCDs represent 40 per cent of all health expenditure which amounted to $192.23m out of a total health expenditure of $478.36m.
“The direct cost burden of NCDs is greater than the direct cost burden of infectious diseases combined with reproductive health and malnutrition,†Dr Nand said.
“Due to the chronicity of the disease and the burden we have in our country, there is expectation that patients living with NCDs will continue to utilise key NCD-related services with repeated and multiple visitations over their lifetime.
“A standardised and quality-based approach is required to prevent and halt the consequences such as disability and premature death.â€
Dr Nand said the aim of the guideline is to provide essential NCD services to alleviate the burden of NCDs and their complications.
“The Fiji CRAM will help to improve the coverage of appropriate, ethical, quality and standardised service for people living with NCDs.
“It harnesses an integrated approach for effective interventions in low-resource settings, allowing efficient use of limited resources.â€
Around 70 to 80 per cent of total deaths are caused by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Fiji while premature mortality accounts for 30-40 per cent of all NCD-related deaths in the country.
Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Atonio Lalabalavu highlighted this in the Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Management (CRAM)/ Package of Essential NonCommunicable (PEN) Operational Guidelines for Fiji’s Primary Health Care Facilities.
The handbook was launched on Friday in Suva.
Dr Lalabalavu said global trends noted that at least 85 per cent of all premature deaths occurred in low to middle income countries such as Fiji.
“This already high burden of NCDs negates the capacity to respond and allocate resources to NCDs due to competing priorities and limited resources,†he said.
“While there has been progress in the prevention and care of communicable diseases, primary health care facilities may not have the capacity (skills and resources), basic equipment and medicines to manage chronic and severe NCDs.â€
He said the Fiji CRAM was a tool to standardise care for NCDs at the public health care level allowing universal access to key and critical care to our people aimed at improving the capacity to respond to the NCD crisis at the primary care level. ■