Dr. Roland Amwano

Dr. Roland Amwano is a public health physician at the Republic of Nauru Hospital and the Nauru Department of Health, leading NCD prevention, communicable disease surveillance, and health promotion programmes for the Republic of Nauru. With 9 years of public health experience, Dr. Amwano works to address Nauru's extraordinary NCD burden — the world's highest rates of obesity and diabetes — through population-level interventions and health promotion.

Nauru's extreme NCD epidemic is a global public health case study. The rapid transition from traditional diet and lifestyle following phosphate mining wealth, combined with subsequent economic decline that entrenched unhealthy food environments, has created a nation where more than 70% of adults are obese and more than 40% have type 2 diabetes. Dr. Amwano's public health work targets this epidemic through community health education, NCD surveillance, and advocacy for healthy food policy.

Dr. Amwano is bilingual in English and Nauruan. He represents Nauru at WHO Western Pacific technical meetings and Pacific health forums, contributing the unique perspective of a nation that serves as a stark warning about the health consequences of rapid dietary transition.

Dr. Amwano completed his MBBS at the Fiji School of Medicine and his Master of Public Health (MPH) at the University of the South Pacific, with a focus on Pacific NCD epidemiology and health promotion. His MPH thesis examined the determinants of extreme obesity prevalence in Pacific island microstates, with Nauru as a primary case study.

He has completed WHO Field Epidemiology Training (FETP Pacific) and training in NCD prevention through the Pacific Community (SPC) and WHO Western Pacific. He completed a public health fellowship at the Fiji Ministry of Health's public health division, gaining experience in Pacific island NCD surveillance and prevention programme implementation.

Dr. Amwano's expertise encompasses NCD surveillance using STEPS methodology, community health promotion programme design and evaluation, tobacco and alcohol control programme management, immunisation programme coordination, and communicable disease outbreak investigation.

He manages Nauru's NCD STEPS Survey implementation, advises the Nauru Department of Health on evidence-based NCD prevention policy including food labelling, sugar-sweetened beverage taxation, and physical activity promotion, and coordinates the national tuberculosis control programme. He liaises with international health partners on NCD technical assistance for Nauru.

Dr. Amwano is dedicated to serving Nauru's community and to addressing the world's most extreme NCD epidemic through evidence-based public health intervention. He has contributed to Nauru's NCD STEPS Survey data and co-authored a publication in the Pacific Journal of Medical Sciences examining Nauru's NCD trajectory over time.

He collaborates with the Pacific Community (SPC), WHO Pacific, and international NCD researchers who study Nauru as a global case study in extreme NCD burden. He participates in the Pacific NCD Alliance advocacy network and contributes to WHO Pacific NCD prevention guidance.

As a public health physician, Dr. Amwano's primary work is population health improvement. He can provide advisory consultations for international researchers, international organisations, NGOs, and public health partners interested in Nauru's public health situation and NCD epidemic.

For individual clinical care in Nauru, patients should contact the Republic of Nauru Hospital's clinical departments. All visitors to Nauru must carry comprehensive medical evacuation insurance given the complete absence of specialist services on the island.

Dr. Amwano has been recognised by the Nauru Department of Health for his contributions to NCD prevention and health promotion. He received a Pacific Community (SPC) Public Health Excellence commendation and a WHO Western Pacific acknowledgement for participation in Pacific NCD surveillance. His work on Nauru's NCD burden has been cited in multiple international public health publications examining Pacific island health.