LA
CoMVNÍDAD DEL
PAcfFlOO
EN PERSPECTIVA
I
F. Orrega P'icuña
run a demographic programme which provides training and assis·
t¡mce to help member Govermnents to understand and anticipate
the effects of population change. Two mobile .teams, one dealing
with youth and community work, the other with improvement of
family life, travel within the territories to provide training geared
to local social needs and problems.
.Although many former threats to health, such as yaws, leprosy
and
tub~rculosis,
have been eliminated or minimised, a host of new
afflictions has arisen from urbanisation and changíng life styles.
Diabetes,
den~al
decay,. venereal disease, cholera and dengue fever
are on the increase. The Commission is actively working towards
early detection and eventual prevention of these diseases. We are
optimistic that we will sQon
con~rol
some of. the new health hazards
as effectively as we appear to have done earlier health problems.
Apart from the practical training that they provide, asignificant
side-effect of the many courses, meetings and conferences organised
each year by the Commission is the encounter between participants
!rom a wide range of countries and backgrounds. TheCommission
has been.. the. majorcontributor to the development of a strong
spirit of regíonalism in our area. Our meetings and conferences
provide Pacific lslanders with opportunities to discuss common
problems in. the social and economic fields, and to get toknow
each otherbetter, particularly in discussions that take place outside
the conference room. 1 am proud of the role the South Pacific
Commission and Conference have' played in this regard.
.3.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The economic development of the regíon also shows great variation.
Kiribati, Nauru; NewCaledonia and Papua-New Guinea have been
wholly or partialIy dependent upon their mineral resources; phos–
phate, nickel and copper. Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa háve
traditionally depended on agricultural production, but are now
attempting to diversify their economies byattracting investors in
light industry. The people of the smaller atolls, which have neither
substantial mineral nor agricultural resources,' rely almost entirely
on the cocónut tree and the resources of the sea. Tó aid economic
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