The health implications of urbanisation in the South Pacific

Abstract

THE HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF URBANISATION IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC. As a result of urbanisation in the South Pacific area, increasing population shift to bigger cities gives more and more rise to health problems of housing, pollution, environmental sanitation, and traffic accidents. New epidemiological patterns are created. Special attention is drawn to the results of urbanisation in the field of food and nutrition. Malnutrition, dental caries, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases are the inevitable consequences of the change in traditional food patterns. Social consequences of urbanisation such as mental health problems due to acculturation, delinquency, alcoholism and prostitution also affect directly the health of the population. To remedy the undesirable conditions created by increasing urbanisation, there is an immediate need for long-term planning in the fields of social welfare and public health. This paper records existing figures on these various aspects of urbanisation and on available health facilities in some urban areas of the South Pacific territories, originating mostly from territorial health reports. However, positive aspects of urbanisation do exist. Some of the reasons given by Pacific islanders for moving to an urban setting are briefly considered.