COOK Islands Secretary of Health Bob Williams has called for a tougher, more coordinated Pacific response to drug trafficking.
Williams warned that the crisis hit families, communities and health systems long before police intervened.
He said the region must stop treating health, climate, peace and security as separate issues.
“We need to be the bigger choir, singing all four parts in harmony,” he said during the Pacific Peace and Security Dialogue this week, arguing that the Pacific can only protect sovereignty and borders if governments work together across sectors.
“Illicit drugs are already causing profound and short and long-lasting devastating physical, mental, and neurological consequences across Pacific communities.
“The first warning signs are usually seen not by law enforcement, but by families, teachers, pastors and health workers in villages and remote islands.
“The first point of contact is rarely the police or law enforcement. It is the family members, it is the community.”
That, Williams warned, means the damage is often well advanced before authorities step in.
“By the time a case is visible to law enforcement, the harm in the community has already been running for months or many years. The social damage has accumulated for years.”
Williams said the region needs a response that combines interdiction with prevention, harm reduction and community support.
“We have to collectively come together to be able to respond effectively; health must be part of the conversation on maritime security, intelligence and law enforcement.”
He also backed stronger community-based delivery of harm-reduction services. Any regional protocol, he said, should “explicitly include community-based approaches as a recognised and deliberately well-resourced delivery channel.”
“Post-interdiction support is just as important as stopping vessels at sea, because communities often bear the full impact of drug networks long after arrests are made.”
Williams called for ill-gotten gains from drug trafficking to be seized and redirected to public benefit.
He said the money should be forfeited to fund the impacts on our Pacific communities, including health, education and social support.
The Cook Islands, he said, is already trying to build a more integrated model through a combined law-agency group that brings together health and enforcement agencies to assess national risks.
But he said the region still needs stronger legislation, better institutional links and sustained investment in health services, especially mental health and youth services.
“The Pacific’s response must fit island realities, not just mainland systems.
“It must be practically applicable to the most remote communities across our islands,” he said.
“We need our communities to be involved in the decision-making. “What I’m saying here today is: we need to come together.”
