UN General Assembly
2011

Diseases (NCDs) held earlier in the week. It is a major concern for us in the Pacific SIDS that non-communicable diseases have reached epidemic proportions. If allowed to continue unabated, NCDs could potentially undermine our labour supply, productivity, investment and education, with devastating consequences for our economic development. I echo the sentiments on NCDs expressed by Pacific leaders regarding the importance of immediate and decisive actions by Governments, the private sector, civil society, regional and international organizations and development partners to work together to address what is now a human, social and economic crisis for us in the Pacific. At the beginning of the current session, we witnessed history of another kind unfolding in the Hall. For the first time, a female President stood at this podium to open the general debate. I join other world leaders in congratulating Her Excellency Ms. Dilma Rousseff of Brazil on her many achievements. The challenge for this body is to continue to encourage women from all nations to participate on an equal basis at all levels of political decision-making processes.