rp21 situational analysis - Pacific Health Voices

Situational analysis of drug and alcohol issues and responses in the Pacific
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contributed to increased national savings and
investment in secondary education. 22 It is
estimated that the 2008 value of remittances
in the region is in the vicinity of US$446 million
(up from US$163 million in 2000). 23
An evaluation of the New Zealand RSE
scheme essentially advocates for maximum
development impact through careful selection
of unskilled participants, calculated
program duration, repeat opportunities as a
reward for good workers, and a cost- sharing
arrangement allowing workers to save at the
same time as providing an incentive to return
home. 24 Advocacy for careful selection
of participants serves to highlight the risk
that skilled workers will elect to take higher
unskilled paid jobs in the region than to
remain on the islands working in essential
service provision. The flow of remittances to
the islands provides obvious economic and
social benefits, 25 but it remains unclear as
to how increased flow of disposable income
impacts on substance use in the countries
of origin. 26 While many of the same issues
face people in the origin and destination
countries, there will be a number of unique
context-driven risk and protective factors,
as demonstrated by New Zealand research
on Pacific Islanders living in New Zealand. 27
Non-resident Pacific Islanders
Both island- and overseas-born Pacific Islanders
are well studied in their new countries of
residence, including New Zealand, Australia
and the United States (Hawaii, in particular),
with specific reference to alcohol. Issues for
further investigation include interactions
between returning Pacific Islanders and locals,
if Pacific Islanders are at specific risk for substance
use upon migration and integration
with communities in their new countries of
residence. Each should be considered in the
context of substance use patterns and associated
impact. Community policing programs,
peace-keeping, industry-specific migrant
labour and the return of ‘troubled’ youth to
the care of extended families in the islands
have also been flagged by key informants
(and above) as issues of concern. 28
22 World Bank above, fn.20.
23 AusAID (2009), Pacific Economic Survey 2009: engaging the world. Canberra: AusAID. This
AusAID survey also notes that 89 per cent of these remain concentrated in Samoa, Tonga
and Fiji.
24 Ibid.
25 R.P.C. Brown (2008), Remittances and Development in the Pacific: effects on human development
in Fiji and Tonga. Bangkok: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific, UN Expert Group Meeting on International Migration and Development in Asia and the
Pacific.
26 World Bank above, fn.20.
27 Spooner above, fn.4; see also New Zealand Ministry of Health (1997), The Place of Alcohol in the
Lives of People from Tokelau, Fiji, Niue, Tonga, Cook Islands and Samoa Living in New Zealand: an
overview. ALAC Research Monograph Series no.2. Wellington, New Zealand: Alcohol Advisory
Council of New Zealand.
28 Personal communication, May 2009.