Mary Rauto
SUVA (The Fiji Times/Pacific Media Watch): The media is an integral part of health promotion, says Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) healthy Pacific lifestyles section head Dr Viliami Puloka.
Dr Puloka said non-communicable diseases (NCDs) had no respect for the size of an island, skin colour or race.
NCDs, he said, knew no boundaries.
Dr Puloka made the comment at the opening of the SPC NCDs media training in Nukualofa, Tonga, where regional journalists have been covering advocacy and NCD awareness.
"It affects the whole community," he said.
"We used to think that it affected only the rich, if that is the case then we must be rich.
"We have failed in some ways to reach out and make the difference in the lives of our people.
"I'm talking about the mother or father who have lost their lives."
Dr Puloka said there were people out there who did not have the time and luxury.
"They can only see as far as today, focused on feeding the family - struggling," he said.
"These are the people who cannot plan, we say they do not aspire to anything but how can they when they (don't look beyond) today?
"This is very important for us. I hope that through our partnership we can make a difference in the lives of people in the Pacific."
Pacific Media Watch
