rp21 situational analysis - Pacific Health Voices

Situational analysis of drug and alcohol issues and responses in the Pacific
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Health and development
Foreign financial aid from United Kingdom,
Japan, Australia, New Zealand and China
equals more than 10 per cent of GDP in Kiribati.
Remittances from seamen on merchant
ships abroad account for more than AU$5 million
each year. Kiribati also receives around
AU$15 million annually for the government
budget from an Australian trust fund. 340 Tourism
provides more than one-fifth of GDP.
Private sector initiatives and a financial sector
are in the early stages of development.
Commercially viable phosphate deposits were
exhausted at the time of independence from
the United Kingdom in 1979. Copra and fish
now represent the bulk of production and
exports. The economy has fluctuated widely
in recent years. Economic development is constrained
by a shortage of skilled workers, weak
infrastructure and remoteness from international
markets. 341 Health services in Kiribati are
provided by the government free of charge. 342
5.2 Drug and alcohol
overview
Kiribati was not included in the 2004–05
Situational Analysis of Illicit Drug Issues and
Responses in the Asia–Pacific Region. Kiribati
has not yet been represented on the PDARN.
Much anecdotal evidence of drug injecting
among i-Kiribati seafarers has been identified,
but no peer-reviewed publications with
supporting data were located. This pattern
contrasts with the other PICTs under consideration
in this analysis, with the majority
reporting no injecting. Excessive alcohol
consumption has been identified as a factor
preventing increased placement of i-Kiribati
on sailing vessels, with some reports suggesting
that up to double the number could
be employed if these issues did not arise so
frequently. 343
340 Ibid.
341 Ibid.
342 Tekena Tiroa–National Statistics Office, Kiribati (2006), Analytical Report on the 2006 Kiribati
HIES [Household Income and Expenditure Survey]. Available at: .
343 Borovnik above, fn.335.