- Project report
Pacific Island Food Revolution: Impact assessment report
- July 31, 2021
- 2:42 am
SECTOR
PROJECT TYPE
DOI
Location
BEHAVIORAL THEME
OVERVIEW
Pacific Island Nations are facing a crisis of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases, represent the single largest cause of premature mortality in the Pacific Islands (World Health Organization, n.d). Currently NCDs account for around 70-75% of all deaths in the Pacific Islands and the situation is worsening (World Bank, 2014). The top 10 countries with the highest rates of diabetes in the world are in the Pacific Islands; 52.5% of adult males in Tonga are estimated to be obese; in Kiribati, Federated State of Micronesia, Tonga and Samoa adult female obesity is estimated to be 50% or more. In Fiji, 82% of deaths are NCD related, there are 3-4 diabetes-related amputations every 24 hours and there is an increased prevalence of diabetes in the younger population (Pratibha, 2019).
THEMATIC AREAS
As part of the year 3 impact assessment, Busara, in close cooperation with local partner organisations (Further Arts Committee Inc. in Vanuatu, CocoNew – The Agency in Tonga and Samoa and Salt Inc Ltd in Fiji), surveyed 330 people across Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu using a mixed quantitative/qualitative instrument. Additional indepth qualitative interviews were conducted with 40 people across the four countries in order to answer outstanding questions that arose in the quantitative analysis. This report highlights the findings from this work.