The Economic Costs of Non-Communicable Diseases in the Pacific Islands

Ian Anderson

No 86522, Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Discussion Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: There is increasing recognition that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are an important international and development issue globally, undermining health gains and imposing financial and economic costs on governments and households. NCDs are an important health challenge in the Pacific. First, (NCDs) can impose large but often preventable health, financial, and economic costs on countries. This is particularly important in the Pacific, where government already finances and provides the bulk of health services. Second, risk factors in the Pacific are feeding a pipeline of potentially expensive-to-treat NCDs, including diabetes and heart disease, but governments are already fiscally constrained in how much more they can provide to the health system. Third, from a public health and public finance perspective, many of the NCDs are avoidable or their health and financial costs can at least be postponed through good primary and secondary prevention. This will require a more coherent approach to health system financing and to health system operations, more generally. Improving both allocative efficiency ("doing the right things") and technical efficiency ("doing things right") are critical strategies to improve health outcomes in a financially sustainable way in the resource-constrained Pacific.

Keywords: access to education; addiction; adult mortality; adult population; aged; Aging; aging populations; aid; allocative efficiency; antenatal care; asthma; both sexes; breast cancer; bronchitis; Burden of Disease; cancers; cardiovascular disease; causes of death; child health; children per woman; cholesterol; chronic disease; chronic diseases; circulatory system; citizens; colon cancer; communicable diseases; community action; complications; coronary heart disease; Current population; dangers; death rate; DEATH RATES; deaths; dementia; demographic transition; dental health; dependency ratio; developing countries; diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus; diagnosis; diarrhea; diet; diets; disabilities; disability; disease burden; Disease Control; domestic violence; double burden; drugs; early detection; economic growth; economic implications; economic resources; Elderly; emphysema; epidemic; epidemics; essential health services; Excessive consumption; expenditures; eye diseases; female; females; fertility rate; fertility rates; fewer people; financial management; food insecurity; Global Health; Glucose; gross domestic product; gross national income; growth in population; Harm Reduction; health care costs; health care spending; health care systems; health centers; health economics; HEALTH EXPENDITURE; health facilities; health financing; HEALTH INDICATORS; Health Information; Health Information System; health information systems; health infrastructure; Health Organization; health outcomes; Health Promotion; health sector; health service; health services; health specialist; health system; health system financing; heart attacks; heart disease; high blood pressure; high fertility; HIV; hospital; hospital costs; hospitals; Human Development; HYPERTENSION; ill health; illnesses; INCOME; Infant; Infant mortality; Infant mortality rate; infectious diseases; influenza; injuries; inpatient care; intervention; KIDNEY DIALYSIS; kidney failure; labor supply; lack of development; leading cause of death; leading causes; leading causes of death; Life expectancy; lifestyles; limited prospects; live births; liver; long-term care; lung cancer; lung disease; malaria; Maternal Mortality; Maternal Mortality Rate; measles; medical care; medical treatment; medicine; medicines; Mental health; mental illness; metabolic disorders; midwives; millennium development goals; MINISTERS OF HEALTH; Ministries of Health; Ministry of Health; morbidity; mortality; mother; national efforts; National Policy; national population; national priorities; national priority; national Strategy; NCD; neonatal mortality; neoplasms; newborn; NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES; Nurses; Nutrition; Obesity; official development assistance; old age; outpatient care; patient; patients; physical activity; physical environment; Physicians; pneumonia; policy implications; population factors; population growth; population growth rate; population growth rates; population size; posters; Pregnant women; premature death; PREVALENCE; prevention strategies; primary health care; probability; progress; public health; public health care; public health officials; Public policy; purchasing power; purchasing power parity; reproductive needs; respect; respiratory diseases; rheumatic fever; risk factors; rural areas; Screening; septicaemia; Sex; sexual contact; size of populations; smokers; Smoking; socioeconomic development; socioeconomic status; substance abuse; surgery; Symptoms; syndrome; tobacco products; Tolerance; transportation; tuberculosis; Under five mortality; under-five mortality; unemployment; urban areas; urban population; urbanization; vicious cycle; violence; Vision; vital statistics; vulnerability; woman; workforce; working-age population; World Health Organization; young adults; young ages; young populations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: pages 98 pages
Date: 2013-09
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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