There are three main messages runningthroughout this report. First, Non Communicable Diseases(NCDs) can impose large health, financial and economic costson countries. This is particularly important in the Pacificwhere Government already finances, and provides, the bulk ofhealth services. Second, risk factors in the Pacific arefeeding a pipeline of potentially expensive to treat NCDs,including diabetes and heart disease, but governments arealready fiscally constrained in how much more they canprovide to the health system. Third, from public health andpublic finance perspective, many of the NCDs are avoidable,or their health and financial costs can at least bepostponed, through good primary and secondary prevention.This will require a more coherent approach to health systemfinancing, and health system operations more generally.
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