CNMI joins WHO to battle preventable diseases

For the second day in a row, health professionals, government officials, and community leaders met yesterday in the Pacific Islands Club’s Napu Room to formulate a five-year strategic plan to battle the spread of noncommunicable diseases.

Under the guidance of Dr. Temo Waqanivalu of the World Health Organization’s South Pacific Office, the large and varied group labored to create a framework of the necessary actions required to reduce the notable prevalence of NCDs in the CNMI. Though they are defined as preventable diseases, NCDs, which include cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases, represent the three main causes of death in the CNMI.

Frances Demapan, a local health advocate, expressed great frustration with the lack of continuity in government policies on raising health standards in the Commonwealth. Changing policies have resulted in dropped programs (such as the Food and Nutrition Council), which has further led to notably negative impacts on the health of CNMI residents.

Most participants expressed a collective desire for permanent and cemented legislation that prioritizes the health concerns of the people of the CNMI, along with a framework and programs designed to withstand changes in administration. A strong desire for unity, increased information sharing, and a refocusing on realistic goals was also raised by the plan’s architects.

When asked if a correlation exists between a high rate of NCDs and an economic downturn, Dr. Waqanivalu said, “It’s almost common sense to link whatever happens [in an environment with a high rate of NCDs]…on an economic level as well.”

In response, Patricia Coleman of Northern Marianas College’s Cooperative Research Extension and Education Service noted the obvious relationship between high rates of crippling sickness and an increasingly crippled economy.

Common sense could further lead to the conclusion that premature mortality, an unsettling but common result of NCDs, in addition to the poor quality of life observed in victims of these preventable diseases, could easily be associated with the economic difficulties that have become a staple of the CNMI, she said.

A formal commitment to the five-year strategic plan formulated over the past two days will be signed at 10:30am today at the Pacific Islands Club.