In this bulletin:
1. FIJI — Announcement of Quad support towards Fiji’s national development priorities welcomed
2. FIJI — Fiji opens door to redemption
3. SOL — Sogavare supports affordable education but calls for clarity on fee-free education
4. PACIFIC — Leaders review USP finances and future challenges
5. TUVALU — Tuvalu, SPC strengthen partnership through new co-location agreement
6. PACIFIC — Samoa police launch probe after citizens confess to killing Australian gang leader in Vietnam
7. PACNEWS BIZ — Fiji to host South Pacific Tourism Exchange 2027
8. PACNEWS BIZ — New Caledonia passes competition law
9. PACNEWS BIZ — New law set to strengthen the tourism industry
10. PACNEWS BIZ — Fuel assistance expected from June
11. PACNEWS IN FOCUS — Into the Wood Chipper: a Washington insider on the dismantling of USAID
12. PACNEWS DIGEST — Weather Ready Pacific expands Early Warning training across Kiribati, Niue and PNG
FIJI – DIPLOMACY: FIJI GOVT PACNEWS 1: Thu 28 May 2026
Announcement of Quad support towards Fiji’s national development priorities welcomed
SUVA, 28 MAY 2026 (FIJI GOVT) — The Fiji Government welcomes the announcement made following the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting, comprising the Secretary of State of the United States of America with the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India and Japan, confirming their intention to work together in support of the development of Fiji’s ports.
The development and modernisation of Fiji’s port infrastructure remain a key national priority and is closely aligned with Fiji’s National Development Plan. Consultations between central Government agencies and respective partners are ongoing with the Ministry of Finance leading on the development of Fiji’s Compact with the U.S Government Agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
As efforts are made to improve Fiji’s port efficiency and strengthen the business regulatory environment, the Fiji Government also recognises that improved maritime connectivity and a more efficient port infrastructure will drive regional economic integration and build more resilient and connected Pacific economies.
Fiji welcomes engagement with partners that support Fiji’s long-term development priorities and contribute towards improving regional connectivity and shared prosperity across the Pacific…. PACNEWS
FIJI – PARLIAMENT: FBC NEWS PACNEWS 1: Thu 28 May 2026
Fiji opens door to redemption
SUVA, 28 MAY 2026 (FBC NEWS) — A single mistake made years ago could soon stop defining the future of many Fijians.
Parliament has unanimously passed the Criminal Records Bill 2025, legislation aimed at giving rehabilitated offenders a second chance at life, employment and overseas opportunities.
Acting Attorney-General Siromi Turaga told Parliament the bill was inspired by the struggles of ordinary people who continued to suffer long after serving their sentences.
Turaga says many people convicted during the COVID period later discovered they were unable to travel overseas for work opportunities in countries such as Australia and New Zealand because of their criminal records.
He says countless people have approached his office seeking help after realising old convictions continued to block opportunities for themselves and their families.
“At the heart of this bill is a simple but powerful belief that people can change, that lives can be rebuilt and that justice must leave room for mercy, dignity and hope.”
Opposition MP Faiyaz Koya says the impact of a conviction often extends far beyond the courtroom.
Koya shared how some people with minor offences were prevented from joining overseas work programmes despite turning their lives around.
He says many offenders were young when they committed offences and have since become responsible members of society.
“One second in incarceration is a lifetime of conviction.”
Koya says the bill provides hope for reformed individuals trying to support their families and rebuild their lives.
Minister for Women and Children Sashi Kiran stressed that the legislation does not excuse criminal behavior.
Kiran says sexual offences and serious violent crimes are excluded from the spent convictions system, ensuring public safety remains protected.
Under the new law, qualifying minor convictions can become spent or expunged after strict rehabilitation and good behavior requirements are met…. PACNEWS
SOL – EDUCATION: SBM ONLINE PACNEWS 1: Thu 28 May 2026
Sogavare supports affordable education but calls for clarity on fee-free education
HONIARA, 28 MAY 2026 (SBM ONLINE) — Solomon Islands Leader of the Official Opposition, Manasseh Sogavare, has reaffirmed his support for accessible and affordable education for every child in Solomon Islands, while calling on the Government to clearly define what it means by its proposed “fee-free education” policy before asking the country to embrace a major new national commitment.
Sogavare said the Government must first answer a number of basic but important questions. He said Solomon Islanders deserve to know whether “free education” applies only to schools directly owned and administered by the Solomon Islands Government and provincial governments, or whether the policy is also intended to extend to church-run and other privately managed schools.
He added that the legal framework already distinguishes between government-funded schools and self-funded schools, and that this makes policy clarity even more important before any blanket public promise is made.
Sogavare said the Government must also clarify whether “free education” means removal of school fees only, or whether it also includes boarding fees, food, utilities, dormitory costs, and other operational expenses.
“Before the country is asked to support a fee-free education policy, Government must tell Solomon Islanders exactly what is free, which schools are covered, and who will carry the cost,” Sogavare said.
“There is a big difference between waiving tuition fees in government day schools and promising to cover boarding, accommodation, food, utilities and other operational costs across the system. Those are not the same policies, and they do not carry the same financial burden.”
The Opposition Leader further noted that the Education Regulations 2024 already set maximum school fees and prohibit schools from imposing extra fees or levies for enrolment, transfers, examinations or assessments.
“The present co-contribution model under the Education Act 2023 and Education Regulations 2024 places reasonable limits on school fees while still enabling schools to receive operational support from both government and parents,” he said.
“For example, the regulations cap annual fees for non-urban junior secondary day students at $800 (US$99.79), while primary day school fees in rural areas are capped at $250 (US$31.18) annually. These measures were specifically designed to protect families from excessive charges while maintaining shared responsibility.”
He said the same legal framework also makes clear that there are some costs that still sit outside school fees, including uniforms, transport, excursions, extracurricular activities and other student consumables.
“If Government is now promising ‘free education’, it must be honest with the public about whether those costs remain with parents or whether taxpayers are also expected to carry them. A serious policy cannot be built on slogans alone.”
Commenting on indications that the new administration intends to pursue the policy through a supplementary budget process, Sogavare said the Government must first confront the demographic, financial and institutional realities facing Solomon Islands before making major national spending commitments.
“With an average of approximately 46 births recorded every day in Solomon Islands, our country is effectively adding the equivalent of a new classroom of children every 24 hours,” Sogavare said.
“That translates to more than 16,000 additional children every year entering the education system. Any government serious about expanding fee relief must also explain how it intends to finance the classrooms, teachers, learning materials, dormitories and infrastructure required to support that rapidly growing population.”
Sogavare said free education must never be discussed separately from quality education.
“It is one thing to promise free education. It is another thing to deliver quality education,” he said.
“If classrooms are overcrowded, teachers are overstretched, grants are delayed, and learning materials are missing, then the public will quickly discover that a fee-free promise alone is not enough. Families want affordability, but they also want quality and relevance in the education their children receive.”
The Opposition Leader also emphasised that education in Solomon Islands has always been a shared partnership involving families, churches, communities and the state, and said any reform must preserve that shared sense of responsibility.
“Parents must continue to play an active role in their children’s education. That sense of shared ownership is important for accountability, discipline and long-term community support for our schools,” Sogavare said.
Sogavare also noted that the current regulations already require arrangements to support families facing financial hardship, including payment by instalments, labour or materials in some cases, and fee remission in appropriate cases for primary and junior secondary students.
The first responsibility of Government should be to enforce the law properly, strengthen hardship support, and improve school quality before rushing into a broad national promise that may later prove difficult to sustain, he said.
“We all want accessible and affordable education for our children.”
“But policies of this scale must be clearly defined, carefully planned, financially sustainable, and capable of protecting the quality of education. The priority must always be securing the future of our children, not making promises that may later prove difficult to deliver,” he said…. PACNEWS
PAC – EDUCATION: FBC NEWS PACNEWS 1: Thu 28 May 2026
Leaders review USP finances and future challenges
SUVA, 28 MAY 2026 (FBC NEWS) — The rapidly changing higher education environment, shaped by digital transformation, shifting student needs, and regional economic pressures were discussed at the University of the South Pacific Council’s 101st meeting in Tonga last week.
Pro-Chancellor and Council Chair Siosiua ʻUtoikamanu says the university has recently focused on strengthening governance, stabilising operations, and building a stronger foundation for future development.
The Council adopted USP’s unqualified audited financial statements for 2025 and reviewed the 2026 financial outlook, which highlighted challenges such as rising costs, economic uncertainty, and affordability pressures for students.
Discussions also focused on maintaining financial sustainability while ensuring continued support for students and improving academic delivery across the region.
Key decisions included updates on government contributions and student fees, reforms to audit and assurance systems, and the appointment of the Governor-General of Tuvalu as the 33rd Chancellor of USP, effective 1 July 2026.
The next USP Council meeting will be held in Apia, Samoa, later this year…. PACNEWS
TUVALU – DIPLOMACY: TUVALU GOVT PACNEWS 1: Thu 28 May 2026
Tuvalu, SPC strengthen partnership through new co-location agreement
FUNAFUTI, 28 MAY 2026 (TUVALU GOVT) — Tuvalu and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) strengthened their partnership on Wednesday evening through the signing of a Co-location Agreement between SPC and the Office of the Prime Minister.
The agreement was signed by SPC Director-General Dr Paula Vivili and Secretary to the Office of the Prime Minister, Fakasoa Tealei.
The partnership will see an SPC National Focal Officer hosted within the Gender Affairs Department under the Office of the Prime Minister to support human rights, gender equality, disability and social inclusion initiatives in Tuvalu.
In his remarks, Tealei described the agreement as “more than an administrative arrangement,” adding that it reflects “our shared commitment to inclusive governance and people-centred development.”
Dr Vivili welcomed the signing, noting that SPC country focal officers play “a very important role in being a conduit between both countries and SPC and in facilitating all our work that is happening.”
He also acknowledged Tuvalu’s willingness to work closely with SPC, describing the agreement as an important step towards strengthening collaboration and technical support in-country.
The agreement further reinforces ongoing cooperation between Tuvalu and SPC in advancing inclusive development and strengthening national capacity.
Director of Gender Affairs and Social Welfare, Redina Auina, will serve as the focal counterpart under the agreement…. PACNEWS
PAC – INVESTIGATION: RNZ PACIFIC PACNEWS 1: Thu 28 May 2026
Samoa police launch probe after citizens confess to killing Australian gang leader in Vietnam
WELLINGTON, 28 MAY 2026 (RNZ PACIFIC) — Samoa police have launched an investigation into a bizarre international case involving two Samoan men who have appeared on Vietnamese television confessing to the murder of a Sydney gang leader in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Samoa Observer reported that Joseph Vaa, 27, admitted gunning down “Coconut Cartel” ringleader Lorenzo Lemalu Tovia outside a restaurant on 21 May. Vaa’s associate, Steve Tofa, 23, has confessed to being his accomplice in the shooting.
Tovia died at the scene while his associate Sauni Sam, 27, is in intensive care in hospital with serious injuries.
A video posted by Vietnamese television channel VTV9 showed Vaa and Tofa wearing black hoods and handcuffs while being marched into a room by police to confess.
Australia’s 7News showed footage of the confessions, with a blank looking Vaa clearly reading out a statement.
“Together with Steve, I came to Vietnam and I was the person who directly used the gun to shoot and kill someone on 21 May,” Vaa confessed.
“I realise that my actions were wrong and I deeply regret what I have done. The Vietnamese police have treated me kindly and provided me with food and drinks to ensure that I remain in good health.”
Tofa, also called Tafia in some news reports, who looked frightened, then admitted to being an accomplice in the crime.
“Me together with Vaa, were hired to come to Vietnam to look for two victims, Lorenzo Lemalu Tovia and Sauni Sam, in order for my friend to use a gun and kill them. Although I had plans to flee Vietnam immediately after committing the crime, it was impossible to escape from the Vietnamese police and I accept responsibility for the law,” Tofa said.
“I would like to advise anyone who intends to come to Vietnam to commit crimes to abandon that idea immediately because you will be arrested by the Vietnamese police.”
The duo were initially thought to be Australian but it is understood they used fake passports to travel to Vietnam and were arrested at the Cambodian border less than three days after the shooting.
Lieutenant General Mai Hoàng, the director of the HCM City Police, said authorities would deal strictly with all lawbreakers operating within Vietnamese territory.
“If the subjects provide sincere declarations, they will receive the leniency of Vietnamese law,” he stated.
Local police said the alleged hit men used “military-grade firearms” during the attack last Wednesday night outside the Cee’f seafood restaurant on Truong Dinh Street in Ben Thanh ward. Surveillance footage showed them fleeing on foot immediately afterwards.
The deputy director police, Nguyen Thanh Hung, told state media that police used surveillance measures and digital mapping to trace their movements and escape route.
Investigators issued emergency detention orders against the two suspects and said at the time that they were “highly dangerous” and “prepared to resist arrest.”
The Khmer Times reported that during their initial interrogation, the suspects told police that they were acting on behalf of an individual based abroad.
They said they had arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM city on 14 May and spent several days monitoring the activities of the two Australian victims.
Police have also detained Vietnamese citizen Nguyễn Trọng Nghĩa, 24, a resident of the southern province of Tây Ninh, along with seven other Vietnamese nationals, for allegedly helping the suspects evade capture and failing to report the crime.
Nghĩa reportedly worked as a passenger transport driver on the Ho Chi Minh City-Tây Ninh route.
Meanwhile, Samoa’s acting police commissioner, Leiataua Samuelu Afamasaga said officers were working with Australian police to investigate Vaa and Tofa’s criminal connections.
Police would need to try and determine who funded the trip to Vietnam to carry out the hit, Leiataua said.
Vaa and Tofa, an aspiring bodybuilder, had reportedly been working for a telecommunications company in Samoa and were involved in the local basketball scene…. PACNEWS
PACNEWS BIZ
FIJI – TOURISM EXCHANGE 2027: ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS BIZ: Thu 28 May 2026
Fiji to host South Pacific Tourism Exchange 2027
SUVA, 28 MAY 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS) — Fiji has won the bid to host the South Pacific Tourism Exchange (SPTE) 2027, following a decisive vote by the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) Board of Directors in Nadi last week.
The selection comes after a competitive process, with Fiji and Tahiti Tourisme both submitting formal expressions of interest to host the region’s leading tourism trade event.
The Board ultimately approved Fiji as the host, instructing the SPTO Secretariat to work closely with Fijian authorities to finalise arrangements for the high-profile gathering.
This move reinforces Fiji’s status as a regional tourism powerhouse and signals strong confidence in the country’s capability to stage critical industry events.
The SPTE is the Pacific’s foremost tourism marketplace, connecting international buyers with operators and National Tourism Offices throughout the region.
The annual event is central to stimulating visitor demand, building partnerships, and generating business for Pacific tourism stakeholders.
SPTO CEO Christopher Cocker said the Board’s decision highlights Fiji’s continued leadership and significant contribution to Pacific tourism.
“SPTE is one of the region’s most important tourism platforms, and Fiji has consistently shown it can host high-quality regional events that deliver real value to the industry,” Cocker said.
The Board also commended Fiji’s ongoing support for the SPTE’s structure, as well as its advocacy for consecutive hosting of both the Fiji Tourism Exchange and SPTE.
In a further sign of long-term commitment, Fiji proposed that if the SPTE is hosted elsewhere in future years, the event should return to Fiji for the following two years. This gesture was welcomed as a demonstration of Fiji’s dedication to regional tourism growth.
The announcement comes as Pacific tourism continues to rebound, expand its global profile, and enhance regional cooperation.
Organisers expect SPTE 2027 in Fiji to further elevate the Pacific’s tourism offerings and provide valuable opportunities for business and networking across the Blue Pacific…. PACNEWS
NEW|CALE – LAW: LES NOUVELLES CALÉDONIENNES/ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS BIZ: Thu 28 May 2026
New Caledonia passes competition law
NOUMEA, 28 MAY 2026 (LES NOUVELLES CALÉDONIENNES/ISLANDS BUSINESS) — New Caledonia’s Congress has adopted a bill on competition measures aimed at curbing abusive business practices, including excessive pricing and late payments. The text was passed on Tuesday with 34 votes in favour and six abstentions.
The legislation explicitly makes excessive prices or profit margins punishable as an abuse of a dominant position. It also introduces stricter controls on business mergers and acquisitions. Another key provision authorises deferred discounts between producers and distributors—previously banned—in hopes of lowering consumer prices in an already high-cost environment.
Payment deadlines between professionals, now set at 30 days from receipt of goods, will henceforth begin upon invoice issuance. A fixed compensation for late payment, to be set by government decree, has also been created.
However, the government withdrew ten articles that would have expanded the powers of New Caledonia’s Competition Authority (ACNC). The official reason is to allow for a thorough review of the ACNC’s performance ahead of its tenth anniversary. But the move follows heavy lobbying from employers’ group FEINC, which has accused the ACNC of excessive overreach and even called for its closure.
The pro-independence UNI group abstained from the vote. Elected member Wali Wahetra argued the deletions undermine the authority’s independence, noting the ACNC had previously uncovered irregularities in public health funds and fairground agreements. Government member Christopher Gyges, who presented the text, said the withdrawn measures would be revisited after a proper evaluation of the authority’s work…. PACNEWS
FIJI – TOURISM: FBC NEWS PACNEWS BIZ: Thu 28 May 2026
New law set to strengthen the tourism industry
SUVA, 28 MAY 2026 (FBC NEWS) — Fiji is set to modernise its tourism industry with the Tourism Bill 2026, aimed at strengthening regulation, improving sustainability and attracting new investment.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism Viliame Gavoka says the Bill will update Fiji’s tourism framework to meet current industry needs and global standards.
He says it will create a more competitive and investor-friendly environment while supporting community participation and protecting Fiji’s natural and cultural assets.
Gavoka adds the reforms aim to ensure tourism growth is inclusive, with benefits reaching rural and maritime communities as well as major tourism centres.
The Ministry says the goal is to position Fiji as a stronger tourism destination that continues to attract visitors and investment while delivering long-term benefits for Fijians…. PACNEWS
FIJI – FUEL CRISIS: FBC NEWS PACNEWS BIZ: Thu 28 May 2026
Fuel assistance expected from June
SUVA, 28 MAY 2026 (FBC NEWS) — External fuel assistance is expected to begin arriving in Fiji from next month.
Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel says the support, committed by development partners, is part of broader budget assistance linked to the ongoing fuel situation.
Speaking to FBC News, Immanuel says assistance is expected from Australia, New Zealand, the Asian Development Bank and other financial institutions.
He says while the support has been committed, several administrative processes, including contract arrangements, must be completed before the funds are released.
“There’s a process to follow. Contracts will be done, and then the funds will be cut. So, we’re targeting June and July and some in August.”
Immanuel says government is continuing to manage the situation through existing cash flow while preparing to integrate the external support once it arrives.
He says the assistance will help ease pressure from fuel-related costs and support the government’s current financing arrangements…. PACNEWS
PACNEWS In Focus
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
Into the Wood Chipper: a Washington insider on the dismantling of USAID
By Gordon Peake
CANBERRA, 28 MAY 2026 (DEVPOLICY.ORG) — For reasons relating to the terms and conditions of the permanent public service, ingrained habits of reticence learned therein, or the uncertainties of consulting, many who work in and around development are hypersensitive about putting their names to their opinions.
I am reminded of this every time I write a review of a book that touches in some way on goings-on in the Canberra aid and foreign policy scene — I get messages from insiders in said scene telling me I’ve either been too tough on the subject or not gone hard enough. Insider tales and perspectives gush out, many of which are amusing, insightful, revealing or chatty, with a few teetering towards defamation. Yet when I ask these individuals to consider penning their own reviews, they go quiet and start to mumble about “not wanting to rock the boat”.
Which brings us to Nicholas Enrich’s book Into the Wood Chipper, a Washington insider’s account of being present at the dismantlement of USAID in the first few months of the second Trump administration.
The agency was among the first to be targeted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and the title of the book stems from a late-night message from Musk that he had “spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone (sic) to some great parties. Did that instead”.
Enrich was USAID’s acting assistant administrator for global health during that period. To use an Americanism that I learned during my own time in Washington DC, Enrich was a man who “keeps the receipts” — he documented every text and email and took contemporaneous notes on every bonkers, Kafkaesque conversation he had with the political appointees and senior bureaucratic enablers hellbent on dismembering USAID. The result is a book that is gossipy, scabrous, pointed, darkly amusing, occasionally profound, insightful on the bureaucratic condition and, in highlighting the cruel effects of these decisions, desperately sad. Enrich is not just a person with the courage to write but a person who can write. He is a pacy, engaging wordsmith with both a pleasingly snarky turn of phrase and an ability to produce vivid scenes that propel his hellscape narrative.
Apart from some scene-setting about what USAID was and potted personal biography, the period that his book covers is short. It spans from November 2024, when Donald Trump was re-elected, to early March 2025, when Enrich realised that he could not conscionably be a part of the process anymore. The organisation that he’d fought for had been reduced to less than a husk by then. He blew the whistle by releasing a trove of memos documenting what was going on behind the scenes.
I lived in Washington DC during the first few months of Enrich’s timeframe and can attest to how accurately he describes the jittery, forlorn, tense, anti- “woke” atmospherics of that time. These atmospherics were fanned by prominent voices in the MAGA-sphere on platforms such as X and podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience. (I worked as a senior adviser to the United States Institute of Peace from 2022 to 2025, and DOGE shuttered that organisation shortly after it had finished with USAID. The fate of the institute is a matter still before the courts, although it seems impossible for me to imagine it will return to its former self.)
Yet, as Enrich writes, even the most fatalistic could not have imagined what epic fury would be wrought unto foreign aid so soon after the inauguration. On his first afternoon back in office, President Trump issued an executive order for a “90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy”, which was followed soon after by another order decreeing a “stop-work” on all foreign aid projects.
The bland bureaucratese unleashed pandemonium. Staff working on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programmes immediately got fired, children receiving drugs in a promising tuberculosis trial stopped getting treatment, medicine and food bound for the needy began to moulder in ports and warehouses across the world.
And then, for Enrich, who was given the dubious honour of being promoted during this period, things get worse. He interfaces with political appointees, many of whom worked with the agency during the first Trump administration and nurse personal grievances against it. One such individual tells Enrich that he believed that USAID staff killed his family’s dog.
The administration announces a waiver for “lifesaving humanitarian assistance” but there is a lack of clarity as to what the waiver encompasses. Ever the bureaucrat, Enrich tries to save what programmes he can in the bureaucratic manner he knows how, penning memos and crunching spreadsheets to make his case for reopening some health programmes including one that would quell an Ebola outbreak in central Africa.
It is hopeless, as the direction is already set and the infrastructure to support these programmes already obliterated. I wrote that Enrich was “like someone taking a banana to a gun fight” in the margins of the book at this point.
The political appointees (and their bureaucratic enablers) are simply not interested in Enrich’s reasons. The waivers are rendered a “farce”, Enrich writes, and no one wants to listen. One of the political appointees advises him to “take a step back” after he points out in one of his memos that terminating the contracts in such a wholesale manner would cost millions of lives.
The atmosphere grew ever stranger and more jittery as more colleagues are terminated and locked out of the building, with some being some reinstated and then fired again. As one example of the paranoia, he cites the case of a colleague who spent “all day eyeing a suspicious-looking croissant that had been mysteriously left on her desk, fearing it might be poisoned” only to learn it was a surprise pick-me-up from a concerned colleague.
Stymied at every turn, exasperated by the torrent of misinformation emanating from the Trump administration about USAID, Enrich realises his work is futile. With colleagues, he compiles documents outlining the impacts of the “pause”, the hollowness of the “waiver” and the impacts of the cuts both on vulnerable people around the world and the global reputation of the United States. Ever the good bureaucrat, he gives the memos the most bland titles imaginable. And then, in the sort of act that would cheer a pissed-off public servant anywhere, he sends the memos out in a mass email to current and former colleagues. Soon thereafter, one surmises, he starts to work on this book.
A little over one year on, the impacts of the abrupt rupturing of USAID are clear. A study published in The Lancet last year estimated that approximately an additional 14 million people could die by 2030 because of the cuts. A new Ebola threat in central Africa is growing, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring it a public health emergency of international concern.
Yet even with that stark figure, the ending of USAID feels like yesterday’s news, a topic too impolitic to raise. Governments, ahem, partners who received support from USAID barely mentioned the demise of the organisation at the time and don’t do so now. I was in Papua New Guinea recently and the only physical signs of USAID still visible were placards for abstruse workshops from yesteryear that remain hung up in government offices.
Some US health programmes have started up again but on very different terms, now run out of the State Department. These are implemented by the same suite of managing contractors who used to implement USAID programmes and who presumably have scrubbed forensically all references to DEI phrases and other now-verboten speak from their websites.
It is in the nature of obituaries that the dead are lauded and their blemishes, imperfections and worse overlooked. A similar halo effect can be observed in how AusAID is referenced nowadays, when it is mentioned at all. If I had my druthers, I wish Enrich had done a tad more reflection about what hadn’t been working well within USAID. My Devpolicy colleague Robin Davies described it once as a “harried, hamstrung and traumatised organisation”. I met some truly amazing people working within it but all labouring in the midst of an unbending contract model and spending way too much time developing metrics that it was doubtful anyone would either use or even understand fully.
Still, Enrich has done USAID a solid tribute with this blow-by-blow account of its demise. He is one gutsy fellow. As prominent writer, physician and senior appointee to USAID during the Biden administration Atul Gawande writes in his warm foreword to the book, Enrich wrote the book when he had “still-young children … a mortgage to pay [and] … no clear job ahead for his future.” That takes courage.
I hope his book gives others situated either in bureaucratic foxholes or nearby vantage points, all of whom have stories to tell, and many of whom are more financially secure than enrich, the courage to write…. PACNEWS
Gordon Peake is a writer, podcaster and consultant. His first book was an award-winning memoir of life in Timor-Leste, his second on the would-be nation of Bougainville.
PACNEWS DIGEST
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
Weather Ready Pacific expands Early Warning training across Kiribati, Niue and PNG
ALOFI, 28 MAY 2026 (SPREP) — The Pacific’s efforts to strengthen early warning systems and climate resilience continue to gather momentum across the region, namely in Kiribati, Niue and Papua New Guinea.
It follows the completion of the Weather Ready Pacific (WRP) Programme specialised Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) training. CAP is a globally recognised standard and messaging format that enables faster, clearer and more coordinated emergency warnings across multiple communication channels simultaneously.
CAP alerts can be geographically targeted and support the inclusion of maps, images, audio and multilingual messaging to improve accessibility and ensure communities receive timely and actionable information during hazardous events.
Tarateima Tewareka, Principal Disability Inclusion Officer, Ministry of Women, Youth, Sports and Social Affairs, applauded the training.
“At the beginning, I was not familiar with the CAP system but I now have a much better understanding of its concepts and how it works,” she said. “I have learned how CAP alerts are developed to issue timely warning messages for different types of disasters, how different hazards can impact communities, and how important it is to design warning messages that are clear, accessible, and responsive to the needs of all people, including persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.”
The trainings form part of Weather Ready Pacific’s broader mission to improve the Pacific region’s ability to protect lives, livelihoods and economies from increasingly frequent and severe weather and climate hazards through stronger, more coordinated early warning systems.
The initiative is being implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in partnership with the New Zealand Meteorological Service (MetService) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
The training built on earlier successful workshops delivered in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), where participating agencies strengthened their operational readiness and CAP capabilities.
The trainings were facilitated by New Zealand Meteorological Service Pacific Meteorology Lead, Raveen Das, in coordination with WMO and national meteorological and disaster management agencies. Participants include representatives from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, National Disaster Management Offices, humanitarian partners, Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, communications stakeholders and other authorised hazard alerting agencies.
“It was very encouraging to see strong participation from agencies across the region and to witness growing recognition of the potential of the Common Alerting Protocol in strengthening multi-hazard early warning systems for both natural and human-induced hazards,” said Raveen Daas, New Zealand Met Service’s Pacific Meteorology Lead.
“During the training, CAP alerts were issued not only for hydrometeorological hazards, but also for hazards such as oil spills, power outages, missing children, and aircraft accidents, demonstrating the flexibility and wide applicability of the CAP framework.”
A key focus of the training was ensuring warning systems are inclusive and accessible, particularly for remote and vulnerable communities that are often disproportionately affected by weather and climate hazards. Sessions cover alerting fundamentals, operational procedures, impact-based forecasting and approaches for adapting global standards to Pacific contexts.
“Pacific communities are on the frontlines of climate change, and they deserve warning systems that actually reach them in time, in their language, and leaving no one behind,” said Ofa Fa’anunu, Weather Ready Pacific Programme Manager, SPREP.
“That’s exactly what Weather Ready Pacific is built to do: close the gap between global tools like CAP and the people who need them most.”
As climate-related hazards continue to intensify across the Pacific, strengthening early warning systems remains a critical investment in disaster preparedness, resilience and sustainable development.
By supporting countries to strengthen their alerting systems and coordination mechanisms, Weather Ready Pacific is helping Pacific communities better anticipate and respond to hazards while advancing the global Early Warnings for All initiative.
Five countries have now completed this significant milestone and are now operational with CAP capability…. PACNEWS
