Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Some Aspects of Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases in Pacific Island Countries

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study provides an overview of the incidence of the communicable and non-communicable diseases in Pacific Island countries. Available health statistics confirms that children continue to die annually due to neonatal causes, diarrhoeal diseases, pneumonia and measles. The adult population in several countries reveals presence and emergence of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Among the communicable diseases is the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among the 15–49 years old age group, it is considered to be less than 0.1% in several countries but in Papua New Guinea (PNG), it is about 0.3%. Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, PNG and Solomon Islands reveal high prevalence of tuberculosis while PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are the three Malaria prone countries. In terms of non-communicable diseases, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in several countries with Nauru recording highest incidence followed by Tuvalu, Marshall Islands and Fiji. People in several countries are in the pre-hypertension category with a high risk of developing hypertension. Several countries have serious obesity problems and in the Cook Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa and Tonga; more than 60% of population is obese, and in all countries females are more obese than males. Diabetes is prevalent in all countries and Nauru has the highest percentage of prevalence of diabetes while in Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Micronesia, approximately 8% of people aged 20 and above suffers from diabetes. Fiji, Nauru, PNG, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu reveal high incidences of cigarette smokers while the consumption of alcohol is high in Niue and in the Cook Islands.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Atkins, R. C. (2005). The epidemiology of chronic kidney disease. Kidney International, 94 (Supplement), 14–18. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1755.2005.09403.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, D. E., Canning, D., & Sevilla, J. (2004). The effect of health on economic growth: A production function approach. World Development, 32(1), 1–13. doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2003.07.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonnel, R. (2000). HIV/AIDS: Does it increase or decrease growth in Africa? World Bank, ACTafrica (AIDS Campaign Team for Africa), November 2000.

  • Borghesi, S., & Vercelli, A. (2004). Sustainable globalisation. Ecological Economics, 44(1), 77–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourguignon, F., & Morrison, C. (2002). Inequality among world citizens: 1890–1992. American Economic Review, 92(4), 37–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chobanian, A. V., et al. (2003). The seventh report of the joint national committee on prevention, detection, evaluation and treatment of high blood pressure. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289, 2560–2572. doi:10.1001/jama.289.19.2560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuddington, J. T., & Hancock, J. D. (1994). Assessing the impact of AIDS on the growth of the Malawian economy. Journal of Development Economics, 43, 363–368. doi:10.1016/0304-3878(94)90013-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dixion, S., McDonal, S., & Roberts, J. (2001). AIDS and economic growth in Africa: A panel data analysis. Journal of International Development, 13, 411–426. doi:10.1002/jid.795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, R., & Chand, S. (2002). The economics of arc of instability. Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, 16(1), 1–11. doi:10.1111/1467-8411.t01-1-00001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Editorial. (2007). Hypertension: Uncontrolled and conquering the world. Lancet, 370 (August 18), 539.

  • European Heart Journal. (2007). 2007 Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. 28, 1462–1536.

  • Ezzati, M., & Lozez, A. D. (2003). Estimates of global mortality attributable to smoking in 2000. Lancet, 362, 847–852. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14338-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedan, T. R., & Bloomberg, M. R. (2007). How to prevent 100 million deaths from Tobacco. Lancet, 369, 1758–1761.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, J. (2007). Is remoteness a cause of slow growth in the Pacific? A spatial econometric analysis. Pacific Economic Bulletin, 22(1), 83–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, J., & Rozelle, S. (2003). Poverty and access to roads in Papua New Guinea. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 52(1), 159–185. doi:10.1086/380424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, J., & Susan, O. (2002). Attacking poverty in Papua New Guinea, but for how long? Pacific Economic Bulletin, 17(2), 63–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guindon, G. E., & Boisclair, D. (2003). Past, current and future trends in tobacco use, HNP Discussion Paper No. 6, Economics of Tobacco Control Paper No. 6, Washington, DC: World Bank.

  • Hindholm, L. H., & Mendis, S. (2007). Prevention of cardiovascular disease in developing countries. Lancet, 370, 720–722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund. (April 12, 2000). Globalization: Threat or opportunity? An IMF Issues Brief. Washington, DC.

  • Katzmarzyk, P. T., & Mason, C. (2006). Prevalence of class I II and III obesity in Canada. CMAJ, 174, 156–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein-Platat, C., Wagner, A., Haan, M. C., Arveller, D., Schllenger, J. L., & Simon, C. (2003). Prevalence and socio-demographic determinants of overweight in young French adolescents. Diabetes Metabolism Research Review, 19, 153–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnus, P., & Beaglehole, R. (2001). The real contribution of major risk factors to the coronary epidemics: Time to end the “Only-50%” myth. Archives of Internal Medicine, 161, 2657–2660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathers, C. D., & Loncur, D. (2006). Projections of global mortality and burden of diseases from 2002 to 2030. PLoS Medicine, 3(11), e442

  • Messerli, F. H., Williams, B., & Ritz, E. (2007). Essential hypertension. Lancet, 370 (August 18), 591–603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, C .J. L., Laakso, T., Shibuya, K., Hill, K., & Lopez, A. D. (2007). Lancet, 370 (September 22), 1040–1054.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mushkin, S. J. (1962). Health as an investment. Journal of Political Economy, 70, 129–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Najman, J. M., Toloo, G., & Siskind, V. (2006). Socio-economic disadvantage and changes in health risk behaviours in Australia, 1989/90–2001. Bulletin of World Health Organisation, 84, 976–984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, D. H., Radelet, S., Snodgrass, D. R., & Gillis, M. (2001). Economics of Development (5th ed.). New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rehm, J., & Gmel, G. (2007). Alcohol consumption and public health in Russia. Lancet, 369 (June 16), 1975–1976.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, T. W. (1961). Investment in human capital. American Economic Review, 51(1), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. (2002). Globalization and its discontents. New York: Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tavani, A., Bertuzzi, M., Gallus, S., Nejri, Z., & La Vecchia, C. (2002). Diabetes Mellitus as a contributor to the risk of acute myocardial infarction. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 55, 1082–1087.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2000). United nations millennium declaration 55/2. 8 September 2000. United Nations General Assembly, New York . Available on line at: http://www.un.org/millennium.

  • United Nations. (2006). The millennium development goals report 2006. New York: United Nations.

  • United Nations Development Program. (2006), Human development report. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Wade, R. H. (2001). The rising inequality of world income distribution. Finance and Development, 8(4), 37–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wild, S., Roglic, G., Green, A., Sicree, R., & King, H. (2004). Global prevalence of diabetes: Estimates for year 2000 and projections for 2030. Diabetes Care, 27, 1047–1053.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2006a). The Pacific infrastructure challenge: A review of obstacles and opportunities for improving performance in Pacific Islands, Working Paper No. 36031. Washington, DC: World Bank

  • World Bank. (2006b). World development indicators CD ROM. Washington, DC: World Bank.

  • World Bank. (2007). Opportunities to improve social services in the Pacific Islands. Working Paper No. 38871. Washington, DC: World Bank.

  • World Health Organisation. (2002a). Health and sustainable development. Geneva: World Health Organisation.

  • World Health Organisation. (2002b). The world health report 2002: Reducing risks, promoting healthy life. Geneva: World Health Organisation.

  • World Health Organisation. (2003a). World health report 2003—Shaping the future. Geneva: World Health Organisation. Available on line at http://www.who.int/whr/2003/en/index.html. Accessed 25 Sept 2007.

  • World Health Organisation. (2003b). Diet, nutrition, and the prevention of chronic diseases. Report of a joint WHO/FAO expert consultation. WHO Technical Report Series, No. 916. Geneva: World Health Organisation.

  • World Health Organisation. (2004). World health report 2004—Changing history. Geneva: World Health Organisation. Available on line at http://www.who.int/whr/2004/en/index.html. Accessed 25 Sept 2007.

  • World Health Organisation. (2006). Regional databases, regional office of the western Pacific. Available online at: http://www.who.int/whosis/database/core/core_select

  • World Health Organisation. (2007a). World health statistics, part 1–Ten statistical highlights in global public health. Geneva: World Health Organisation.

  • World Health Organisation. (2007b). WHO Global infobase. Available on line at http://www.who.int/infobase/compare.aspx?dm=5. Accessed 5 Oct 2007.

Download references

Acknowledgements

This project is supported by the University of Canterbury’s Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies Research Scholarship awarded to the author. The author gratefully acknowledges this financial support. The author is responsible for all errors and omissions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of the South Pacific, Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji

    Azmat Gani

Authors
  1. Azmat Gani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Azmat Gani.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gani, A. Some Aspects of Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases in Pacific Island Countries. Soc Indic Res 91, 171–187 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-008-9276-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-008-9276-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation