Pacific countries have heard calls in Wellington for more action to address the growing problem of sexually transmitted diseases in the region.
A director in the office of indigenous policy coordination in Australia, Kerri Arabena, was speaking at an international family planning conference over the weekend.
Ms Arebena who has worked in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji, says sexually transmitted diseases are prevalent in the regionn and more screening needs to be done.
"I was horrified to find out that throughout the Pacific Islands we're not doing screening for chlamydia, and yet that's a really big issue for our young communities in particular. That's one issue with the New Zealand government along with other Pacific Island groups can face that fact, and work through and deal with chlamydia then you have gone a long way to strengthening the future of all of our communities, and that's of vital importance for this region."
A director in the office of indigenous policy coordination in Australia, Kerri Arabena.