The French Polynesian government has launched sweeping discussions on how to cope with the rising cost of healthcare.
President Edouard Fritch said health has a cost, but it is priceless, pointing out that in the past 25 years expenses have grown twice the rate of the economy.
The President of French Polynesia, Edouard Fritch Photo: AFP
He has told a gathering at the presidential palace that a common concept of healthcare needs to be developed as the social welfare system now costs about $US530 million a year.
The plan is to have roundtable talks in early June to identify both sources of funding and ways to avoid a worsening of diseases.
The government said the population is aging rapidly, with the number of those over 60 having doubled in 25 years.
It notes one of six over the age of 60 has a long-term illness.
Non-communicable diseases and obesity are at record levels, with the number of diabetes sufferers growing ninefold between 1995 and 2020.