The Baha'i­ International Community representing the Baha'i­ Communities of the Pacific Region wishes to express its appreciation to the South Pacific Commission for the invitation to attend this meeting of the Committee of Governments and Administrations. Although we are keenly interested in the variety of concerns being discussed at this meeting, we would like to direct our comments to the areas of health and education. The dynamic relationship between these two dimensions of human development is fundamental to the realization of all others.

Baha'i­s believe that health is more than the absence of disease or infirmity. In addition to the three widely recognized aspects of health physical, mental and social well-being - the spiritual dimension is likewise important and should be manifested not only in the individual, but also in the life of the family and the community.

Consequently, Baha'i­ communities strive to address the needs of individuals, families, and the community as a whole in their activities. The role of education in the realization of this harmonious balance between all aspects of life cannot be overemphasized and the education of women is of particular importance in this process.

Women, as the main agents of primary health care, play an essential role in maintaining family and community health. They are the ones who are most aware of sickness and suffering in the community because of their social role as nurturers and care-takers of the young, the old, the sick and the handicapped, and they exert an important influence on health habits in the family. Although it is often recognized that primary health care has to respond to the needs of people, and that women have the most extensive awareness of these needs, their opinion is hardly ever solicited when health care programmes are being formulated.

In order for communities to benefit from the knowledge which women possess, a renewed self-confidence of women has to be encouraged. Women have to learn to regard themselves as capable human beings with important contributions to make on the basis of their life experience and their accumulated wealth of knowledge. Furthermore a conscious effort has to be made to enable women to organize and to vocalize the information they have acquired.

If this participation is to become a reality, women must penetrate all levels and all areas of the health care system. They have to be doctors, nurses, community development agents, educators, agricultural extension workers, public health officials, planners, legislators, politicians. At the same time, they have to encourage the participation of people at the grass-roots, including women and women's organizations, in the decisions affecting individual and community health. None of these results can be realized unless special efforts are made to organize education and vocational and professional training in such a way that more girls and women can take advantage of them. Investing resources in primary health care programmes which includes health education and the application of health promoting activities based on simple but scientifically sound measures in which women can participate at the local level, is likely to provide more benefits than traditional efforts dedicated to the formation of highly skilled physicians who practice medicine in clinics and hospitals.

Primary health care activities should be fully integrated with the activities of other sectors involved in community development, agriculture, education, public works, housing, and communication, and the local population should be actively involved in the formulation and implementation of these activities, so that health care can be brought into line with local needs and priorities. These priorities will be based on decisions resulting from a continuous dialogue between the people and the services.

The Baha'i­ International Community is actively involved in primary health care. In India, Malaysia, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and many more countries including the Pacific region. Baha'i­ villages are implementing health and educational programmes of many kinds and are having much success. It is our view that these programmes are successful because the overall education of women is the key factor and consequently the recognition of their own value is recognized, thereby enabling them to participate more readily in decisions concerning their community's health.

While Baha'i­ International Community continues to work toward the improvement of life in our communities through these programmes we also welcome the opportunity to lend support to health programmes which require local as well as professional volunteers.