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Nearly half of Fiji's population anaemic

Xinhua, August 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

Around 400,000 children, women and men in Fiji suffer from anaemia, the government-owned Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) reported Tuesday.

The latest 2007 census shows Fiji's total population stands at around 840,000.

Isimeli Tukana, Fiji's national advisor for non-communicable diseases, said the Pacific island country's rate of anaemia is alarming.

"Data shows that a lot of people in Fiji are anaemic, you need that particular iron rich food to be able to carry the oxygen to the tissues," Tukana told the FBC.

Fiji's Ministry of Health and Medical Services has been working on various ways to fight against anaemia, Tukana said, adding that the ministry is calling on Fijian mothers to prevent the disease by frequently breastfeeding babies in their first two years of life. Endi