Polynesia's High
pp. 44-45 · Read in the full issue
It's Bigger Than They Think
Infant Mortality
• According to the figures youi find in the official reports, th infant mortality rate in Nez Zealand’s trust territory of Wei Samoa is less than that of tft New Zealand Maoris.
THE Maori figure is 70-80 deatl per thousand.
The Samoan figure, say tH reports, is about 50 per thousan —which compares fairly favourabc with the NZ European figure » 20 per thousand.
But, as a matter of fact, officii estimates in Samoa are incorreo The mortality rate there is 70-1 per thousand—the same as tH Maori figure.
The incorrect official figure is no the result of any deliberate figure forgery by Samoan or N officialdom.
It merely serves to underline tH difficulty of getting accurate in formation from many Island territories.
Experts on Job
But on the medical side, ani way, a team of experts from NZ University of Otago is attemptin to put the records straight.
First results are interesting.
The team has been working fc several years. It changes its com position from time to time, but \ present it is headed by Profess John Miles, Professor of Micrr biology at Otago—a tall, careles dresser, with an easy manner an a fanatical interest in ski: diseases.
Also on it are Dr. Derr; McCarthy, NZ Island Territorie Research Officer (currently in tH Cooks), and Dr. M. J. Marples, clever woman who is seniii lecturer in microbiology at tH University.
Other staff members and studenr (who make trips to the Islands ; vacation) help out.
It was their first-hand investigsi tion that placed the Samoan infaii mortality figure at 70-80 pi thousand.
Samoan women, queried at horn by the investigators, revealed thu had given birth to many mo?: children than they had botherr to tell the Government about.
Some had died, and just “g£ buried”, so what was the purpoc of sending in returns?
Among other things, the medico team has found that a well-mean ing attempt to improve the healil of some of the Islands’ childre
s in fact been the cause of iths.
Fish to the Swiftest n Samoa, as elsewhere (for it a widespread habit, extending as as Indonesia) authorities have ached against the unhygienic ctice of mothers pre-chewing d for children being weaned, hit they haven’t always been e to replace the practice with lething better.
'he result: Younger ones, de red of pre-chewed food handed by mother, have had to fight their food against older and mger children—who hand back n the scrum odd bits they don’t he (elder ones retain the fish, babies get the taro and remain lerfed. he investigators noted a distinct rovement in health among dren old enough to do their own ting.
In the Cooks it's Higher )me members of the team have i interested in the high mor •Y r ate of the Cooks—l2o per isand at Aititaki, but even ier—3oo per thousand, in the them Cooks. 3t those in the Northern Cooks, i big money from pearl shell, 3 been more prosperous than e in overcrowded, lower-income taki. hy the much higher mortality le reason, the medical team has [d, is in this difference in' pros ie poorer southerners subsist on and natural foods, for they * no money for anything else. ieir richer northern neighbours, plenty of work and plenty of ey, don’t bother to fish—but i another can of preserved food, id thus help to double their in mortality rat e.— STUART ER .