WELLINGTON, (XINHUA) — New Zealand Associate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga will be looking for regional solutions to improve the health of Pacific island people at a regional meeting in Fiji this week. The three-day Pacific Health Ministers Meeting, which opens in Yanuca on Wednesday, is a biennial gathering of ministers and health officials from…
BUKA, (PNG LOOP) – If Bougainville’s caretaker president John Momis is re-elected in next month’s elections his government will immediately begin discussions on re-opening the Panguna mine. The huge mine was the catalyst for the civil war that engulfed the Papua New Guinea autonomous region for much of the 1990s. Momis says a resumption of…
Port Vila, Vanuatu – Almost one month after Cyclone Pam came through the archipelago of Vanuatu, the Government-‐led response is in urgent need of funding to continue basic humanitarian relief efforts such as food, safe drinking water and shelter. The cyclone destroyed more than 90 per cent of crops, leaving a population that relies heavily…
West Papua must be given full membership at the Melanesian Spearhead Group, says the Pacific Freedom Forum. “The people of West Papua have long been denied basic human rights by their own government,” says PFF Chair Titi Gabi. “They are therefore justified in seeking support and assistance for those rights from outside their own borders.”…
TV3 – Nearly four weeks ago an unwanted visitor – Cyclone Pam – arrived in Vanuatu, killing 11 people and devastating livelihoods. Since then, the local people have worked tirelessly to rebuild their lives and their country. Yesterday their efforts got a huge boost with the arrival of the Pacific Dawn, the first cruise ship…
RNZI – The Vanuatu government says it is pleased with Russia’s offer of assistance with the relief effort after cyclone Pam and says it has asked Russia to assist in the reconstruction phase of the recovery, RNZI reports. The Vanuatu foreign minister Sato Kilman who recently returned to Port Vila from Moscow says he hopes…
RNZI – The leader of the United Nations Disaster Assessment Co-ordination team in Vanuatu says authorities are now moving into a second phase of assessment for the country’s long-term recovery after cyclone Pam. Sebastian Rhodes Stampa says until now, the main focus has been to raise money and get basic supplies such as food, shelter…
POST COURIER – Papua New Guinea’s National Fisheries Authority (NFA) has been receiving a lot of good response from corporate agencies and partners in the industry to sponsor the upcoming Pacific Tuna Forum to be held in Fiji. The fifth Regional Tuna Industry and Trade Conference, which will be held on September 22 and 23…
Tokyo, Japan – The Government of Japan has pledged US$600,000 to UNICEF to assist children and families affected by Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. The Pacific Island Countries affected by Cyclone Pam need immediate assistance for children and their families. UNICEF is delivering support from Japan in the areas of…
Suva, Fjii – Almost 70 new varieties of potato and sweet potato will soon be available to Pacific Island countries and territories, to improve food security across the region. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s (SPC’s) Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePACT), based in Suva, Fiji, has received 42 new potato varieties as tissue…