Region used as drug transit zone

PACIFIC Island countries are being illegally used as transit ports for illicit drug trafficking into Australia and New Zealand.
This was one of the concerns raised at the 5th Pacific Drug and Alcohol Research Network (PDARN) meeting in Port Vila, Vanuatu, last July. 
The meeting was hosted by the Australian National Council on Drugs and the Burnett Institute and discussed the potential threat posed by organised crime syndicates that target the Pacific region to carry out criminal activities.
Eleven representatives from different countries, including Papau New Guinea’s principal adviser for mental health services, Dr Uma Ambi,  attended.
“Let’s not forget that there is a public health impact on alcohol here which is a major concern for us.
“The world health report, 2002 says that the harmful use of alcohol is responsible for 4% of disease burden and 3.2% of all premature deaths,” Ambi said.
“This translates into 58.3 million disability adjusted life years and 1.8 million deaths,” she added.
Ambi said that the harmful use of alcohol was often associated with many health conditions including mental disorders and suicide, cancers and other non-communicable diseases.
PDARN delegates also had the opportunity to share information on new drug and alcohol trends and issues at both the regional level and within individual Pacific Island countries.
The global alcohol policy trends and issues were also discussed by one of the world’s leading experts, Prof Sally Casswell of Massey University in Australia.
The issue of alcohol and its adverse health, social and economic impact on Pacific Island communities was an area of discussion throughout the meeting, including the relative influence of the alcohol industry in comparison to public health advocates.
Participation of young people in drug and alcohol abuse was also discussed.