rp21 situational analysis - Pacific Health Voices

Situational analysis of drug and alcohol issues and responses in the Pacific
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17.2 Drug and alcohol
overview
Vanuatu was one of five Pacific countries
included in the 2004–05 ANCD-funded situational
analysis. For that study, it was impossible
to obtain estimates for a drug user
population and no specific alcohol and other
drug service providers were identified.
Vanuatu was represented at the PDARN
meeting for the first time in 2008. The delegate
was an NGO representative working
on youth programs for Save the Children
Australia, which include health and lifestyle
interventions incorporating drug- and
alcohol- related health promotion. In 2009
the PDARN meeting was hosted in Vanuatu
with representatives from the Vanuatu Ministries
of Health and Justice, in addition to
the Foundation of the Peoples of the South
Pacific International.
With respect to research, Vanuatu is one of
three nations participating in a recent youth
health and lifestyle survey related to risk
behaviours. This survey included drug and
alcohol consumption. When compared to the
other countries surveyed (Tonga and the Federated
States of Micronesia), Vanuatu tended
to be characterised by less risky behaviours. 949
However, the research highlighted as significant
in Vanuatu an association between
binge drinking and increased sexual risktaking
and the likelihood of having multiple
partners. 950 Poly-substance use has also been
identified as an emerging concern. Finally,
no research into drug and alcohol issues
among non-youth populations in Vanuatu
has been identified. However, the high incidence
of alcohol-related interpersonal and
domestic violence has been flagged as an
ongoing concern.
17.3 Illicit drug trends
Vanuatu is a member of the PILON. In 2007
and 2008 the Vanuatu Attorney-General’s
Office noted an increase in the prosecution
of drug offences (possession and cultivation),
with a total of ten related matters included
in its PILON report. By local standards this
is a significant increase: up from an average
of five in previous years. 951 This trend is
further illustrated by the identification of 35
cannabis-related and two cocaine-related 952
judgments for offences including possession,
consumption, cultivation and trafficking of
drugs from January to September 2008. 953
949 H. Corner, C. Rissel et al. (2005), Sexual health behaviours among Pacific Islands youth in
Vanuatu, Tonga and the Federated States of Micronesia. Health Promotion Journal of Australia,
16(2): 144–150.
950 Ibid.
951 Vanuatu Country Report to PILON meetings, 6–10 December 2007; 5–9 December 2008.
952 Vanuatu legal cases, reported on the Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute website, available
at: (accessed July 2009); Criminal Case No. 51 of
2007: Public Prosecutor v Chavdar Koleff — estimated value of AU$145 000.
953 The ni-Vanuatu defendant in one of the cocaine cases reported travelling to Venezuela to
transport drugs to Vanuatu; cultivation relates to cannabis only.