With the aging population, alcohol and drug problems, mental health and offending, developmental disorder and suicide prevention remain high on the priority list, as the team maps out its strategic direction for the future.
There are many current population health challenges, one of these is the challenge of ensuring suitable health care for our elderly.
The people of the Cook Islands have 100% access to basic drinking water services, however this achievement does not indicate the quality of the drinking water.
Over the Easter holidays we had two motorcycle crash-related hospital admissions involving young people, one of whom was referred from Aitutaki. Both incidents were associated with alcohol.
Since declaring DENV-1 in Rarotonga earlier this year, dengue notifications to the Ministry of Health now total 24 cases (18 confirmed, six probable) with half being female.
The Ministry of Health has declared a dengue outbreak following the confirmation of seven dengue cases in Rarotonga in the past month. Of these cases, one was a visitor from French Polynesia with dengue serotype 3 (DENV-3), while others were dengue serotype 1 (DENV-1).
Four cases of dengue have been recently confirmed in Rarotonga. This follows the diagnosis of dengue three weeks ago in a visitor who arrived from French Polynesia.
With the recent heavy rain and flooding in many areas on Rarotonga, we urge the public to take extra precautions to avoid any preventable health issues caused by the flooding such as diarrhoea and increased risk of mosquito borne diseases.
One of the major issues that has been highlighted in the media has been the provision of an appropriate facility to cater for mental health cases.
