Marstella Jack is PIANGO’s New Board Chair

The Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisation (PIANGO) convened its Council after it was delayed from 2019 due to COVID-19 threats. Twenty of the 24-member country representatives of PIANGO network

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The Pacific at AAC2022: Lesson learnt; voices amplified?

After a break in 2021 due to the pandemic, the Australasian Aid Conference (AAC) returns to the Australian National University today. The AAC2022 will include some livestreamed sessions which Pacific audiences can tune

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Visa on arrival in PNG for Melanesian countries

Solomon Islands nationals and nationals of other Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) countries can now get their visa on arrival when travelling to Papua New Guinea. This came after the PNG government formally declared the

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500 Fijian families to sign up for parametric insurance cover

500 families in two maritime islands in Fiji will this month join the latest parametric insurance product trial, launched in October by Tower Insurance, the third local insurance provider to offer parametric insurance

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‘More smoke than fire’: China’s Pacific aid falls short of pledges

Beijing’s development spending has fallen despite efforts to build influence in the region. In 2017, Papua New Guinea’s government announced a long-awaited AUD$4.1bn (US$2.6bn) upgrade of the nation’s potholed

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SPBD Microfinance Vanuatu Reached the Milestone of 1 Billion Vatu Disbursed In Loans

SPBD Microfinance Vanuatu is a member of the SPBD network of microfinance institutions operating in Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. SPBD is dedicated to eradicating poverty by empowering women in poor

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Protecting the Pacific from Foot and Mouth Disease

Earlier this year, alarming reports came out of Indonesia about an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). As of 2nd July, Indonesia recorded 313,636 infected cattle, with over 2,700 deaths. [1] What is FMD? FMD is a

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America’s Catch-Up Summit

Spooked by China’s influence in the Pacific Islands, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted an unprecedented summit at the White House for leaders from the Pacific Islands Forum on 28-29 September. It was the culmination of

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Avoiding a WASHout

There has been a significant decline in donor funding for water, sanitation and hygiene projects in the Pacific, as the region continues to lag behind the Sustainable Development Goals on access to water. A recent study

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Saved from the Unknown

One in four women with cervical cancer live in what the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines as the ‘Western Pacific Region’, a collection of Asia and Pacific Island states and territories. An estimated 145,700

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Briefs

American SamoaA U.S. Supreme Court on October 17 declined to consider whether American Samoans have full U.S citizenship at birth. American Samoans challenging the current law, in which they are considered U.S.

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Deeper Sounds, Deeper Connections

Deeper Sounds, Deeper Connections is a Pacific-Australian project which shares the unique music of the Pacific with the world. Working with groups of musicians across the region, it captures traditional instruments,

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