09th September, 2019 Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), such as heart attacks, stroke, cancers, asthma and diabetes, are estimated to account for 83 % of all deaths in Tonga. NCDs is a common vital issue among Pacific island countries and areas which have a very high prevalence of obesity with adult prevalence as high as 75%.
28 participants consisting of JICA volunteers and their counterparts fighting against NCDs in Fiji, Marshall Islands, PNG, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga gathered in Tonga to learn practical measures to combat NCDs.
This Seminar follows the 1st Regional Seminar on NCDs in Fiji, February 2019, organized by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO), Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), Fiji Health Ministry and others. The 2nd Seminar aimed to discuss the progress after 6 months and to vitalize respective activities in each country and regional network through learning more practical skills on motivational interview, nutrition guidance and physical exercise to name a few.
Day 1 – 28th August 2019 (Opening Ceremony)
At the Opening Ceremony on the 28th August, the Guest of Honor, Dr. Siale ‘Akau’ola, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Health, and also, Chairman of National Non-Communicable Diseases Committee (NNCDC), introduced “Tonga, together with other Pacific Island countries are amongst the top ten countries in the world with highest obesity and diabetes rates.”
Dr. ‘Akau’ola acknowledged recent few key actions to fight against NCDs in Tonga, saying, “HM King Tupou VI continues to champion the effort to prevent and control NCDs by strongly advocating for the need for everyone to play their parts.” He added HM the King addressed to the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2018 about the positive work done on NCDs in Tonga.
One of the other key actions is “Strong collaboration with development partners such as Japanese Government. We are seeing today the evidence of innovativeness in their approach to NCDs, with the Seminar to share best practice and to learn from each other,” he concluded, “I am sure you will have a very fruitful seminar, as we continue to work together to provide a healthier environment for people of the Pacific – that protects them from the threats of NCDs – and where healthy choices becomes easy choices for everyone.”
HE Mr. Tetsuya Ishii, the Japanese Ambassador to Tonga, in his Remarks, stressed the significance for many volunteers in the Pacific region working on NCDs issue to gather together to share experience and knowledge, and he hoped, “that it will be possible for all of you to discover some new ideas through your discussions, even though the situations of each countries and regions are different.”
The opening ceremony began with a prayer lead by Reverend Dr. ‘Ungatea Kata, Director of Tonga Tertiary Institute and beautiful hymn by TTI orchestra.
Workshops on Day 1,
Following the Opening Ceremony, participants had lectures, practice and demonstration on BMI and Motivational Interview which was instructed by Dr. Hamada, the Chief Advisor of JICA NCDs Project in Fiji. They also exchanged their respective Country Reports and discussed the progress and challenges of their activities.
The final session of the day was a “Seminar Presentation – Stakeholders in Tonga”. The objective of this session is to give participants an example of a national level whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to address NCDs in Tonga. In the Opening Remarks, Mr. Shinji Yoshiura, Resident Representative of JICA Tonga Office, mentioned, “I am afraid we can show just a small part of the whole picture as we could only invite limited stakeholders relevant to participants’ fields of expertise due to time constraints. I wish the seminar participants could find out something useful idea for sustainability of their activities from various kinds of approach to combat NCDs.”
The presenters are as follows;
- Ofa Tukia, Health Promotion Unit – Ministry of Health
- Metui Falesiva, Deputy CEO – Ministry of Agriculture Food and Forestry
- Setoya Yutaro, Technical Officer – WHO office in Tonga
- Ofeina Filimoehala, CEO – TongaHealth
- Minoru Nishi Jr., Managing Director – NISHI Trading
- Soane Patolo, CEO – MORDI Tonga Trust
Day 2 – 29th August 2019 (Healthy Meal Competition & Physical Exercise)
Day 2 started at MAFF Kitchen, Vaiola Motu’a. Hon. Losaline Ma’asi, Minister of MAFF, kindly attended the opening of the session, said, “MAFF constructed this facility in the late 1980’s when I was a staff of Women’s Division with the support of Japanese government. Since then, the importance of women’s role and healthy meal to reduce NCDs threat has been recognized positively year by year. I am happy to know that JICA organized this regional seminar using this facility. Production of agricultural food is important not only to NCDs prevention, but also to the national economy. I would like to continue to work closely with JICA”.
Participants enjoyed healthy meal competition in 6 groups after lectures on nutrition, diet and discussions on health recipes. Mr. ‘Emanuele Mo’ale, Head of Extension Div., MAFF, Dr. Hamada and Mr.Yoshiura awarded the top 3 groups which created healthy, tasty and affordable lunches suitable for children.
The Physical Exercise session followed the healthy lunch at TTI Hall. Participants shared the knowledge of sustainable exercises and created one regional exercise consisting of traditional dances of each Pacific countries that participated.
Day 3 – 30th August 2019 (Wrap-up and Conclusion)
Participants reviewed Day 1 & 2 and revised present Activity Plan practically through cross sector discussion and case studies.
In closing remarks, Mr. Yoshiura appreciated positive participation of all volunteers and their counterparts which made the seminar a success and said, “Now we come to the stage where the results of the seminar are reviewed and put together. I am looking forward to knowing how and what this seminar could help to improve your activity, and, what are the benefits of this combined effort to fight NCDs at grassroots level in the region”.
On behalf of volunteers, Mr. Gakuto Nakao, Physical Therapist, Fiji, made remarks that he learned the practical skills to improve his activity after returning back to his office in Fiji. Mr. Biu Colati, Senior Education Officer from Fiji, and Mr. Albert Tioti, Senior Physio Therapist from PNG expressed their gratitude to JICA for organizing this informative seminar and to Tongan people for their heartwarming hospitality.
Finally, Ms. Yumi Ito, Community Development volunteer in MAFF, one of the organiz-ers of this Seminar, closed the seminar by saying “we would like to cherish the keywords of this Seminar – “Sharing, Sustainability and Unity” in the Pacific and continue to work together to combat NCDs in this region.”
ENDS
Issued by the: JICA Tonga Office