rp21 situational analysis - Pacific Health Voices

Situational analysis of drug and alcohol issues and responses in the Pacific
5.8 Gaps analysis
Locating current data for all areas of drug
and alcohol use in Kiribati has been difficult.
This difficulty was largely due to the lack of
an existing local contact or key informant
focused on drug and alcohol issues. Now
that a key contact within the Kiribati police
has been identified, there is scope to seek
more up-to-date information regarding substance
use generally in Kiribati. Ideally health
and community sector contacts will also be
identified to participate in future PDARN and
other AOD (alcohol and other drug) sector
activities to form a current and accurate picture
of the situation in Kiribati, as much of
the currently available information is more
than three years old. In addition, much of
the literature focuses on substance use by
youth and other high-risk groups (e.g. seafarers
and sex workers) and little is reported on
issues such as alcohol consumption among
the general adult population. Similar to other
PICTs, Kiribati has introduced a number of
legislative and policy reforms to address
substance use issues — the progress and
success of these moves are unclear. Where
initiatives outlined in the Regulation section
(above) have been implemented, if possible
a rigorous evaluation should be undertaken
to assess the effectiveness of the current
response to alcohol and other drug issues.
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