Features Archive July 2021

Despite ongoing adverse impacts and delayed recovery expectations, the July survey showed stability in optimism among the majority of respondents with 70 per cent of Pacific businesses confident their business will survive the COVID-19 crisis, compared to 69 per cent last wave.

Report Finds COVID-19 Impacts Unrelenting on the Pacific Private Sector

The fifteenth Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Pacific Business Monitor reports that sentiments among the Pacific business decision-makers remain critical and expected timelines for economic recovery are shifting back further.
A major 2017 University of Adelaide study funded by horticulture industry associations found that “[t]he SWP results in less exploitation of workers … when compared with other low-skilled visa pathways”, such as backpackers.

Foreign Workers on Australian Farms: Not If But How

In 2006, under pressure from the Pacific to introduce a seasonal worker scheme, and under pressure from Australian farmers to address labour shortages, the Howard government introduced the second-year backpacker visa.
"We need to take urgent action now by acknowledging it as a serious threat to our islands,” Gladys told Pacific leaders that consisted of Prime Ministers, Presidents and Ministers.

Call for Pacific Leaders to Declare Climate Emergency

Pacific Youth representative at a UK-Pacific High Level Climate Dialogue, Gladys Habu is calling on Pacific Leaders to prioritize the climate crisis by declaring it a climate emergency.
Wearing masks and hand hygiene must be followed even if your dear ones are vaccinated, it is not always the case that every person you meet is necessarily vaccinated.

5 Covid-19 Vaccine Myths Explained

Here are 5 most heard myths about the COVID-19 Vaccine.
Fiji military directing people at a COVID-19 testing centre in the Lami-Suva-Nausori containment area.

Ending Fiji’s Nightmare

The extremely contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 is currently running amok in Fiji’s capital, Suva.
Vanuatu skills partnership strategic planning session.

Useful Outsiders – How Can External Actors Support Authentic Locally Led Development?

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated border closures have thrown the international development industry into turmoil. An industry conventionally reliant on ‘fly-in fly-out’ consultants has had to face a reckoning in terms of the sustainability of its modus operandi.
Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Statement by the Administrator of the UNDP, Mr. Achim Steiner

Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and representative of the United Nations (UN) at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Government Governors Meeting held in Venice, Italy, issued the following statement at the conclusion of the meeting:
Oxygen concentrators are unloaded in April at Jacksons airport, Port Moresby, PNG.

Aiding the Pacific During Covid: An Update

While the money is flowing, the outlook for the region has also darkened considerably.
Representatives from SOLRIGHT Women Football Cup (WFC) who assisted with the OW booklets’ packing.

Celebrating Women’s Leadership in Solomon Islands

The UN Development Programme, SolRice, and the Government of Australia have joined forces to acknowledge women’s leadership and their role in achieving social change.