Category Archives: Pacific islands

‘A great loss’: tributes pour in for pioneering PNG female doctor who died from Covid

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Naomi Kori Pomat, the first female doctor in her province, died in country’s first government-confirmed death of a health worker from virus

Tributes have poured in for a doctor in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province who died last week, in the country’s first death of a healthcare worker from Covid-19 confirmed by the government.

Dr Naomi Kori Pomat, 60, the director for curative health services at the Western Provincial Health Authority (WPHA), was medevaced to Port Moresby after contracting the virus and died on 19 September.

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Vanuatu to seek international court opinion on climate change rights

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The Pacific island nation wants clarity on the legal responsibilities owed to its people related to climate change

Vanuatu will ask the International court of justice for an advisory opinion on the rights of present and future generations to be protected from climate change.

With a population of about 280,000 people spread across roughly 80 islands, Vanuatu is among more than a dozen Pacific island nations facing rising sea levels and more regular storms that can wipe out much of their economies.

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‘Catastrophic pathway’: UN secretary general urges action to save Pacific lives

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Antonio Guterres said ‘more ambition from every country’ was required and that current emissions rates threatened the ‘very survival of Pacific communities’

The secretary general of the United Nations has told Pacific nations that a 45% cut in emissions by 2030 was needed globally to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, adding that continuing on the current trajectory “puts us on a catastrophic pathway”.

António Guterres was speaking at a virtual meeting with Pacific Island Forum leaders as part of the UN general assembly taking place in New York.

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Global shipping is a big emitter, the industry must commit to drastic action before it is too late

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Around 80% of global trade is transported across oceans on cargo vessels powered by fossil fuels, Pacific nations are calling for decisive global action

  • Casten Ned Nemra is minister of foreign affairs of the Marshall Islands

Many communities around the world have recently been confronted with the dangerous impacts of climate change and as world leaders prepare to meet in Glasgow for the COP26 summit, are examining what action needs to be taken.

But one of the world’s major global greenhouse gas emitters has long escaped global attention.

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The US strategy to counter China in the Pacific could be a $1bn misstep | Gerard Finin and Terence Wesley-Smith

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The US is proposing big spending, but initiatives are designed to undermine China rather than address actual needs on the islands

After decades of ambivalence, the United States plans to expand its footprint in the Pacific islands region to dimensions larger than at any time since the second world war.

But the Biden administration may be on the brink of embracing a flawed foreign policy initiative spanning almost one-third of the globe.

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Vaccines on horseback: Fiji doctors take long and muddy road to protect remote villages from Covid

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A team of medics hiked in the mountains for hours to take supplies to the small village of Nakida

To reach Nakida village in the highlands of Fiji, Dr Losalini Tabakei and her colleagues hiked for hours, up and down mountains, through forests, down muddy slopes, across rivers and along treacherous ridges with steep slopes of bamboo forest on either side.

Their supplies – clothing, medical equipment and, crucially, the Covid-19 vaccines they were bringing to administer to the remote community of just 60 people – were sent separately on horseback; the vaccines in refrigerated boxes, the rest in bags wrapped in plastic. The horses took the longer but flatter route to the town along the river.

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Pasifika are on the frontline in New Zealand’s Covid battle – and are copping racist abuse for it | Fa’anana Efeso Collins

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Public indifference to abuse of the Pasifika community is especially concerning – we all need to show compassion in this crisis

The past week in lockdown has been tumultuous for many in my community. I was on my way to pick up my daughter from school when media outlets began reporting that New Zealand was headed for a possible level 4 lockdown, suggesting the Delta variant had breached our borders and there was a probable case in the community. By the time I arrived at the school, notifications were filling my messenger feed with supermarkets packed to the brim as the rush for toilet paper began. New Zealand went into full lockdown that night in its fight against Covid-19.

Within a matter of hours, news emerged that a person from the North Shore of Auckland had tested positive followed by people who had attended a large church gathering in south Auckland. Church plays a pivotal role in the Pacific community. It serves as a hub to express our faith, language and culture, where we reconnect with friends and family. It grounds us and allows us to recharge before we head back into a society that is different to what we knew in our home islands dotted around the Pacific.

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New Zealand health chief slams ‘gutless’ racism against Pasifika people over Covid cluster

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Ashley Bloomfield urges everyone to be kind amid rise in online abuse after outbreak at Auckland church service that took place before lockdown

New Zealand’s director general of health has condemned “gutless” racism against Pacific communities, as the Covid-19 outbreak continues to grow.

Announcing case numbers on Wednesday, Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the ministry of health had seen racism being directed at Pacific New Zealanders, and that those racist remarks were “disappointing – and frankly, gutless”.

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‘No one wanted to come near us’: what it’s like being pregnant amid Fiji’s Covid outbreak

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As Fiji battles to contain the coronavirus, pregnant women are having to give birth in isolation

For 34-year-old Jane, being told she had tested positive for Covid-19 just a few days before giving birth was an experience she would never forget.

“There were some minor complications during the final trimester of my pregnancy. On 18 July, I was taken to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva but I had to wait outside with other pregnant mothers who were about to deliver,” said Jane, not her real name.

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‘We were very blessed’: in the Cook Islands, pandemic proved a welcome respite from tourists

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Despite the loss of income, some people say they enjoyed the peace of border closures while the environment had a chance to recover

For nearly a year and a half after the onset of the pandemic, the Cook Islands didn’t see a single tourist.

In early 2020 the south Pacific country was forced to close its borders to keep Covid-19 out. In doing so it shut the doors on an industry that contributes two-thirds of the remote island country’s GDP.

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IPCC report shows ‘possible loss of entire countries within the century’

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Pacific island nations are already being battered by king tides, catastrophic cyclones and sustained droughts

Global heating above 1.5C will be “catastrophic” for Pacific island nations and could lead to the loss of entire countries due to sea level rise within the century, experts have warned.

The Pacific has long been seen as the “canary in the coalmine” for the climate crisis, as the region has suffered from king tides, catastrophic cyclones, increasing salinity in water tables making growing crops impossible, sustained droughts, and the loss of low-lying islands to sea level rise. These crises are expected to increase in frequency and severity as the world heats.

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Ardern’s apology to Pacific peoples was just the beginning – we will continue the fight | Melani Anae

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What was delivered was a watered-down version of what we called for – it will do little to dismantle systemic racism

When the Polynesian Panthers (PPP) activist group began calling for an apology for the dawn raids two years ago, we went into the process with eyes wide open. Government lobbyists seldom get everything they ask for, but our intent was honest and real and fuelled by our Panther legacy and love for the people.

We believe that the apology was, and is, a necessary step towards the healing and restoration of trust and relationships between the Pacific peoples and families who were adversely affected by government actions during the dawn raids and the government.

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Jacinda Ardern apologises over New Zealand ‘dawn raids’ in 1970s – video

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New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has formally apologised to Pacific Island people who were targeted for deportation in aggressive home raids in the mid-1970s. Ardern attended a ceremony at the Auckland town hall during which she made the apology on behalf of the nation for the racially charged 'dawn raids', which targeted Pasifika people for deportation. ‘The government expresses its sorrow, remorse, and regret that the dawn raids and random police checks occurred and that these actions were ever considered appropriate,’ Ardern said.

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Fiji’s emergency Covid-19 hotline fell silent during the rugby sevens final: we really needed this win | Sheldon Chanel

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The men’s gold and women’s bronze medals meant everything to Fiji, which has the highest per-capita Covid infection rate in the world

When the Fijian men’s sevens team beat New Zealand to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, the entire nation celebrated.

The win could not have come at a better time. Fiji is in the grip of a deadly second outbreak of Covid-19, on top of a potential political crisis over controversial native land legislation.

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Jacinda Ardern apologises for New Zealand ‘dawn raids’ on Pasifika people in 1970s

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The raids on Pasifika migrants and their subsequent deportations separated families and devastated communities

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has issued a formal apology for historic racist policing of Pacific people and offered scholarships to Pacific students.

Hundreds of people packed Auckland town hall on Sunday to hear the apology for the “dawn raids” of the 1970s during which authorities hunted for visa overstayers.

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‘Please explain what OG means’: delight as Fiji politician discovers Twitter

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Pio Tikoduadua, president of the opposition National Federation Party, has won praise and followers with his faltering attempts to understand social media

A leading opposition MP from Fiji is delighting new social media followers with his wide-eyed discovery of Twitter, even as the country is experiencing heightened political tensions.

Pio Tikoduadua, who is the president of the National Federation Party, announced on Monday that while his Twitter account had been created a while ago, it had been run by his staff until now.

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Bougainville health minister and family lost at sea after boat sinks off Papua New Guinea

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Six people missing after boat sank just 150 metres from Nissan Island, with lone survivor swimming 15 kilometres to neighbouring island

Authorities in Bougainville are still searching for the autonomous region’s health minister after he and his family went missing in rough seas at the weekend.

Charry Napto, his wife and son were among seven people on board a banana boat which was travelling to Nissan Island from Buka, the capital of Bougainville, on Saturday.

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Citizenship for sale: fugitives, politicians and disgraced businesspeople buying Vanuatu passports

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Revealed: more than 2,000 people, including individuals sought by police, have purchased passports, and with them visa-free access to the EU and UK

A controversial “golden passports” scheme run by the Pacific nation of Vanuatu saw more than 2,000 people, including a slew of disgraced businesspeople and individuals sought by police in countries all over the world, purchase citizenship in 2020 – and with it visa-free access to the EU and UK, the Guardian can reveal.

Among those granted citizenship through the country’s development support program were a Syrian businessman with US sanctions against his businesses, a suspected North Korean politician, an Italian businessman accused of extorting the Vatican, a former member of a notorious Australian motorcycle gang, and South African brothers accused of a $3.6bn cryptocurrency heist.

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‘It’s just like flu’: misinformation and fear hamper Papua New Guinea’s Covid vaccine rollout

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More than three months after the first vaccine was administered, less than 0.6% of the population have received their first dose

Three months since Papua New Guinea launched its Covid vaccine rollout, just 60,000 people – or 0.6% of the population – have received their first dose, with many people hesitant due to misinformation and fears around the vaccine.

Despite a recent surge in cases that has overwhelmed the already rickety health system, just over 2,800 people have received their second dose.

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‘I could help more’: could two new transfer companies change the game for Pacific expats?

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Two new payment transfer companies will be opening in the Pacific, where fees to send money are among the highest in the world

Kereni Vuai has carried a lot of people through the pandemic.

Vuai, 27, works full-time at a Sydney nursing home, which pays her AU$1500 a fortnight. She sends almost a third of that - $AU400 – back to family and friends in Fiji, many of whom have lost their jobs since coronavirus caused economic devastation in the tourism-dependent country.

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