ISAAC MARTY
The number one killer of Marshallese is non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Existing prevention programs trying to halt or curve the NCD trend now have question marks hanging over them. Are they doing a good job?
The best answer is that authorities need information in order to evaluate both NCD levels and response programs. For example, the FY2015 MOH annual report includes a “death trend” chart that shows NCDs were the main cause of 384 deaths in the RMI in 2015. By comparison, in 2007 there were 276 deaths related to NCDs.
Accurate and updated data can show a clearer picture of how big the problem is and how affective programs have been over the past decade. But data on NCDs in the RMI is out-dated. The most recent is from 2002, the last time a national NCD survey was conducted. Best practice calls for these surveys to be conducted every 10 years to update information on health status. The Marshall Islands is significantly overdue for an NCD data update.
Thanks to funding from RMI’s international partners — US Department of Interior, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), and World Health Organization — the RMI Ministry of Health (MOH) can update its NCD report.
MOH joined with the Economic Policy Planning and Statistics Office, and the Marshall Islands Epidemiology and Prevention Initiative (MIEPI) for the RMI NCD Hybrid Survey Training that opened Monday at the Marshall Islands Resort’s Melele Room. The one-week training is preparing 30 selected individuals for the survey. MIEPI is the main driver for the training and the six-month survey that is expected to start next week.
Read more about this in the July 21, 2017 edition of the Marshall Islands Journal.