Alumni in the spotlight: Vicky Wari

Friday 22 October, 2021
by Daniel Punch, Communications Manager



Vicky Wari has taken many approaches to addressing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) throughout her career.

She started by using her clinical skills as a Health Extension Officer at a hospital in the northern town of Wewak. She then shifted to public health, spending nine years supporting the health of communities in regional PNG. And now, as Program Manager for NCDs at the National Department of Health, she is using public policy to address NCDs in her country and harnessing the power of the law.

Vicky and her team helped develop PNG’s Tobacco Control Act 2016 and are currently working on tobacco control regulations that she hopes will make a positive impact on health in PNG. “I’m hoping that smoking prevalence will reduce, thus reducing NCDs and improving quality of life for the people of my country,” she says.

It has been a significant project, but she is grateful to have training and technical support from the McCabe Centre. Vicky and her colleagues attended the McCabe Centre’s intensive legal training course in 2015.

At the training, Vicky says she found a “network of professionals that are speaking the same language as I am.” She gained a deeper understanding of how laws can effectively reduce tobacco use and prevent NCDs, and she says she felt empowered to move her NCD projects forward.

“The McCabe Centre training gave me the confidence I needed,” she says.

At the same time, the McCabe Centre gives me a team that is there for me when I need help either to develop laws and regulations, or when we are faced with a lawsuit from industry.

Challenges from industry are a major obstacle for countries implementing tobacco control laws, but governments can overcome them with legal capacity, resources and political will. Vicky encourages others working in tobacco control to stay the course and, where necessary, to step up their efforts. “I would encourage everyone to maintain and increase their pace [to keep ahead of industry],” she says.

***

Subscribe to updates from the McCabe Centre to learn more about our work to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco.

Recent Posts

People in front of the COP sign in Panama

WHO FCTC COP moves forward with decisions on human rights, liability, the environment, digital media, and the future of tobacco control

Sunday 11 February 2024
Parties to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) made important advances this week to fight tobacco, the world’s leading single preventable cause of death. The tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the WHO FCTC featured a packed agenda, and the COP adopted a number of important decisions.
Alcohol Bottles

How Ireland beat the odds to introduce cancer warning labels on alcohol

Monday 5 February 2024
Despite opposition from industry groups at home and internationally, Ireland will soon be the first country to warn drinkers of the links between cancer and any alcohol consumption on the drinks label. How did Ireland beat the odds to introduce these labels? Clare Slattery takes a closer look in this piece for World Cancer Research Fund.

Closing the care gap on World Cancer Day

Friday 2 February 2024
This World Cancer Day, we’re joining the call to address the cancer care gap, and allow everyone access to safe, affordable cancer treatment and care.

Take a look back at 2023 with us

Thursday 21 December 2023
It's been another big year for the McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer. Last year we celebrated our tenth anniversary, and in 2023 we celebrate ten years as the WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub on Legal Challenges.
People being immunised

Time for action on Health for All: We need to deliver on renewed global commitments to Universal Health Coverage

Tuesday 12 December 2023
If there was ever a time that we needed to focus on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), it’s now.