FCA PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES

Framework Convention Alliance

Volume 8, Issue 1 April, 2017 In this Issue: Tobacco control is a smart move for

sustainable development on-communicable diseases goal is clear but it also affects many Tobacco control is a N (NCDs) such as heart disease, other dimensions of development. It smart move for diabetes, cancers and lung disease exacerbates poverty, contributes to sustainable are leading causes of death in the food insecurity, and threatens chil- development Pacific region. The inclusion of dren’s access to education.

NCDs in the Sustainable Develop- OCO and WHO sign MOU on illicit trade ment Goals (SDG 3.4) that world For example, low-income families of tobacco leaders adopted in 2015 at the UN that spend money on tobacco have General Assembly, acknowledges fewer resources for food, health and Congratulations to the vast and growing education, which are all Samoa for FCTC 2030 burden of these condi- essential to development. project tions. Their inclusion in No country can afford

the SDGs also acknowl- the health, social, eco- OTCC 2017 Updates edges the opportunity to nomic or environmental

Smoking Cessation prevent and manage consequences of tobacco. Initiative in Wallis and them, benefiting human Futuna dignity and creating Tobacco can be linked to more resilient communi- each of the 17 sustain- Busy quarter for ties. able development goals Coalition for a (see fact sheet here) and Tobacco Free Palau Tobacco use is a common risk factor the WHO FCTC is the evidenced- to these four major NCDs and im- based roadmap that exists to effec- NCD hybrid survey plementation of the WHO Frame- tive tobacco control. It has rightly piloted in the CNMI work Convention on Tobacco Con- been referred to as a tool for sustain- Tobacco trol (FCTC) is specifically recog- able development. purchasing age raised nized as one of the ―means of imple- to 21 years on Guam mentation‖ (target 3.a) to reach the The theme for this year’s World No

overall health goal and target on non Tobacco Day is ―tobacco—a threat Tonga Health -communicable diseases. Promotion to development”. See more infor- Foundation new faces mation and resources here. Reach Tobacco undermines development at out to engage in-country develop- Resources individual, family, community and ment partners in this year’s obser- national levels. The link between vance of WNTD. Calendar of Events tobacco use and the SDG health

Oceania Customs Organization and WHO sign MOU on illicit trade of tobacco

The Oceania Customs Organization (OCO) and and d) Exploring options for tracking and trac- the World Health Organization (WHO) have ing of tobacco products in the Pacific; and e) recently signed a MOU to ―work together in Joint missions to Pacific islands related to sharing information and ideas relevant to pre- eliminating illicit trade in tobacco products as venting and eliminating illicit tobacco trade‖. appropriate. The MOU was signed by Mr. Seve Paeniu, Head of OCO Secretariat and Dr. Corinne OCO supports Pacific island customs authori- Capuano, WHO Representative/Director, Pa- ties to protect borders from illicit products, in- cific Technical Support, WHO Representative cluding tobacco. It is often the health sector in the South Pacific. which detects and shares information with cus- toms so that they The MOU identifies may strengthen their the following areas procedures to pre- of coordination: a) vent such products Information and from penetrating data sharing rele- Pacific borders. vant to trade in to- WHO has been sup- bacco and tobacco porting Pacific is- products (such as land Ministries of manufacture, im- Health (MOH) to port, export, distri- engage with their bution, and sale) as customs counter- appropriate; b) parts to inform them Aligning model cus- of tobacco control toms legislation to laws, WHO FCTC Mr. Seve Paeniu from OCO and Dr. Corinne Capuano from account for provi- WHO sign MOU in Fiji and the illicit trade sions recommended protocol (ITP). in the WHO FCTC and the Protocol to Elimi- nate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products; c) Rais- Through sharing of information, WHO and ing awareness about: OCO may alert each other about incidents of i. WHO Framework Convention on To- illicit tobacco trade as well as tobacco industry bacco Control (FCTC) and the Protocol interference (TII). It is helpful to support to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco MOHs to engage cross-sectorally with customs Products, agencies at country-level to prevent TII as well ii. the importance of eliminating illicit trade as illicit trade. For more information, in tobacco products, and see:http://www.ocosec.org/oco-signs-mou-with iii. the importance of preventing tobacco in- -world-health-organisation/, or http:// dustry interference in developing and im- www.ocosec.org/mou-with-world-health- plementing public health policy and pro- organisation/ grams;

2 News from the region

Congratulations to Samoa— achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by advancing implementation of the selected as a FCTC 2030 Convention. One of the core elements of the project is the provision of direct support to a Partner country selected number of low and middle income

countries (LMICs) that have demonstrated con- The Convention Secretariat recently announced siderable motivation to advance tobacco con- the 15 Parties to the WHO Framework Con- trol. The FCTC 2030 project will strengthen vention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) that were tobacco control in LMICs through promoting selected to participate in the FCTC 2030 pro- and supporting governments to accelerate the ject. Samoa was one of those selected from an implementation of the WHO FCTC. applicant list of 55.

This project is funded by the UK Department The FCTC 2030 project aims to support Par- for International Development and will run ties to the WHO FCTC that are eligible to re- from April 2017 until March 2021. For further ceive official development assistance (ODA) to information see here.

Oceania Tobacco In other news from Samoa...

Control Conference (OTCC)

OTCC 2017 takes place in Hobart, Australia later this year. Conference registration is now open. The early bird rate for full registration is $650 AUD until 17 July. The standard rate is $850. Full Registration includes attendance at all sessions, lunch, morning and afternoon re- freshments during days of 17-19 October 2017, satchel, handbook, name badge, an invitation to the Welcome Drinks and the Conference Din- ner. Student registration is $450. To register, go to http://www.otcc2017.org.au/registration/.

The OTCC 2017 program will be released 15 May. Abstract submissions are now closed.

Check the website for upcoming scholarship information coming soon. Samoa Cancer Society’s Shelley Burich and WHO’s Dr. Ada Moadsiri recently providing technical input into Samoa’s proposed tobacco control amendments.

3 Tackling Tobacco Addiction: trained for counselling, education and treatment services; comprehensive management guide- Smoking Cessation Initiative lines based on scientific and best practices were in Wallis and Futuna developed; and a clinic was established and equipped with required facilities and medica-

tions for diagnosing, counselling, preventing The burden of non-communicable diseases and treating tobacco addiction. Public educa- due to tobacco addiction is increasing in Wallis tion, promotion and awareness campaigns on and Futuna (W&F). 42.6% of adults aged 18 tobacco cessation were conducted throughout and over in W&F are daily smokers. This trend the communities of W&F and are ongoing. In- is worrying, and puts W&F at risk of productiv- creased access to the tobacco cessation services ity loss due to tobacco-related by smokers is reported since illness and premature death. the initiative began.

With technical assistance from The government of W&F in- French Polynesia, W&F estab- creased investment and esca- lished a smoking cessation lated actions in preventing clinic in October 2016. This and treating tobacco depend- initiative was supported by the ence to meet regional and Pacific Community (SPC) as global commitments to to- part of the effort to strengthen bacco control. SPC continues South-South collaboration in to support W&F to expand addressing tobacco control in and sustain the tobacco con- the Pacific. trol initiatives. For further in-

formation, contact Dr. Si Thu Through this initiative, clini- Win Tin at [email protected] or cians, health and community workers were Ms. Solene Bertrand at [email protected].

Busy quarter for Coalition project—the ―Palau Pledge project‖. The goal of the project is to appeal to tourists to respect for a Tobacco Free Palau Palau’s pristine environment and help protect it for Palau’s youth. To complement activities The Coalition for a Tobacco Free Palau (CTFP) targeted for tourists, the project will ensure that has been active on many fronts this past quar- the community is empowered to take part in ter. The Coalition is partnering with different combating the harmful impacts of tobacco agencies including the Ministry of Health, and through local events and outreach. This project the Palau Visitor’s Authority (PVA) on several will address both clean air and cigarette litter. projects. CTFP is also making plans for World No To- Among the projects is the development of so- bacco Day and will hold it’s annual 5K/10K cial marketing campaigns on second hand walk run on May 21st. smoke, tobacco industry interference and the connection between tobacco and development. CTFP is an all volunteer organization. For more In addition, a new partnership has been formed information please contact: tobaccofreepa- with the PVA to contribute to an innovative [email protected]. 4 NCD hybrid survey piloted in able to develop a new NCD survey that com- bined indicators needed from various programs the CNMI within the CNMI and multiple support agencies into one comprehensive survey. This allowed Becky Robles, the Commonwealth of the the Commonwealth to effectively use limited Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) NCD Bu- financial and human resources to meet their reau Administrator and Dr. Haley Cash, the Pa- data needs. Following the success of the CNMI cific Island Health Officers Association and taking into account lessons learned, Palau (PIHOA) NCD Regional Epidemiologist pre- has also successfully administered a hybrid sented at the World Congress on Public Health NCD survey. To learn more about this ap- in Melbourne Australia from April 3-7. Their presentation was titled: ―Development of a h y b r i d n o n - communicable disease surveillance survey within the Common- wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands‖. They were able to highlight the work that they did to develop a novel adult NCD surveillance system within the proach, contact Becky Robles at CNMI by using a collaborative approach. By [email protected] or Haley Cash at working together with local partners, as well as [email protected]. To learn more about regional and global support partners, they were PIHOA, please visit www.pihoa.org.

Tobacco—purchasing age second violation. Fines for third and fourth violations are $5,000 and $10,000. raised to 21 years on Guam

It is also a violation of the law for any person After long and concerted efforts by health pro- under 21 years of age to use or be in possession fessionals, community advocates and Guam’s of tobacco products. Any person violating this youth, Bill 9-34 passed into section of the law is required law on March 23 that raises ―Raising the legal minimum age for to attend an education pro- the minimum age of legal cigarette purchase to 21 could gut our gram on tobacco products to access to tobacco products key young adult market (17-20) where we sell about 25 billion cigarettes and include smoking cessation and electronic cigarettes to enjoy a 70 percent market share.” information. Congratula- 21 years. The law comes Philip Morris report, January 21, 1986 tions to Guam for this into effect in January, 2018. great achievement! Vendors may be fined up to

$1,000 (USD) for their first For resources on raising the age of sale to 21, offense within a 5 year period and $2,000 for a see Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. 5 Tonga Health Promotion Foundation welcomes new staff and new offices

Tonga Health Promotion Foundation recently opened a new office and extension and also welcomed Ms. Jeanie McKenzie as the NCD Development Manager. Ms. McKenzie is fa- miliar to many in the region as the former NCD THPF team with new NCD Development Advisor at the Pacific Community (SPC). Manager, Ms. Jeanie McKenzie

Resources

The Healthy Caribbean Coalition wider applicability. For more information, see has released a new publication 'Getting Na- http://www.healthycaribbean.org/ and sign up tional NCD Commissions Up and Running: A to receive HCC News RoundUP. Framework for the Establishment and Strength- ening of National NCD Commissions in the

Caribbean Towards a More Effective Multisec-

toral Response to NCDs PART II’. Vital Strategies has recently released an infor- This publication, devel- mative report ―Sustainable Funding Mecha- oped in partnership with nisms for Population-Level the Commonwealth Secre- Tobacco Control Communi- tariat, is the second of a cation Programs‖. Access two-part series on National report here. NCD Commis- sions (NNCDCs). Part I: 'A Civil Society Report on National NCD Commissions in the Carib- bean', provides a detailed assessment of the status of National NCD Commissions in CARI- The WHO FCTC 2016 Global Progress Re- COM Member States (MS). Part II provides port is now available. Find it here together practical guidance for the establishment and with a presentation about the main findings. strengthening of NNCDCs (or their equiva- lents) based on the experiences of past and existing Commissions in the region, as pre- sented in Part I. The two part series of reports has been prepared by, and viewed through the lens of, civil society. It has been produced for the Caribbean – Small Island Developing States ranging from low- to high-income but has

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Framework Convention Alliance in the Pacific Islands

Working together to free the world from the devastating health, social, economic and

environmental consequences of tobacco and tobacco use

The Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) represents FCA has representatives in all WHO regions. The West- the voice of civil society in support of the world’s first ern Pacific—Pacific Island Countries Regional Office global public health treaty – the WHO Framework (WPRO– Oceania) of FCA is located in Palau. The Coor- Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The FCA is dinator is Annabel Lyman. made up of nearly 500 organizations from more than 100 low, middle and high income countries. The Office’s main activities are:  Mobilise and support civil society capacity in For membership information: write to support of the FCTC [email protected].  Collaborate with other technical assistance pro- viders serving the Pacific Islands

 Provide technical assistance to members & Parties FCA publishes the Bulletin and Tobacco Watch http://www.fctc.org/publications For more information contact the Coordinator Calendar of Events ***************************** The report of the seventh session of the Confer- ence of the Parties to the WHO FCTC was re- 25-27 April, 2017 5th Heads of Health meeting, Suva, leased recently and provides details of COP dis- Fiji http://www.spc.int/events/5th-heads-of-health/ cussions and important decisions. See here to view the report. 22-31 May, 2017 WHO's 70th World Health Assembly (WHA70), Geneva, Switzerland http://www.who.int/life- course/news/events/70-wha/en/ *****************************

31 May, 2017 World No Tobacco Day, FCA Members in Pacific Island Countries

“Tobacco—a threat to development” http://  Coalition for a Tobacco Free Palau www.who.int/campaigns/no-tobacco-day/2017/  Global Youth Leadership Nexus (Solomon Is- event/en/ lands)  Kumit Bobrae Coalition Inc. (Marshall Islands) 10-19 July, 2017 meeting of the high-level political  Marshall Islands Epidemiology and Prevention forum on sustainable development "Eradicating pov- Initiatives, Inc. (MIEPI) erty and promoting prosperity in a changing world",  Kia-Henry Nema (Papua New Guinea) New York https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/  Nauru National Women’s Council hlpf  Samoa Cancer Society  The Child of the South Pacific Incorporated 2-6 October, 2017 WHO WPRO 68th Regional Society (Niue) Committee Meeting, Brisbane Australia http://  Tobacco Free Coalition Kosrae (Federated States www.wpro.who.int/about/regional_committee/en/ of Micronesia)  Tonga Family Health Association 17-19 October, 2017 Oceania Tobacco Control  Tuvalu Association of NGOs (TANGO) Conference (OTCC), Hobart, Tasmania Austra-  Ulkerreuil a Klengar– UAK (Palau) lia www.otcc2017.org.au

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