A note from the editor
This month, Islands Business was able to attend the Forum Economic Ministers meeting in Vanuatu. You’ll see coverage of some of the big issues discussed at FEMM—climate and resilience financing and supply chain
COVID19
Vanuatu, Niue borders reopen this week
After closing its international borders to everyone except citizens and residents two years ago following the COVID-19 pandemic, Vanuatu is reopening and reconnecting with the world starting this Friday. Vanuatu had not
Expired booster vaccines administered in Niue
A total of 51 people in Niue who took their booster vaccines on Tuesday last week have been informed that the vaccine used was expired, according to a government statement. Director General of Health and Social
Fijian pastor deported from Vanuatu
A Fijian Pastor has been deported Tuesday through a joint operation by the Vanuatu Immigration Services and Vanuatu Police Force (VPF), through the Vanuatu Interpol Unit, for violating COVID-19 protocols. Pastor Jone
Teleworking realities
The COVID-19 has been dubbed the “great accelerator,” as it brought an enormous shift to digital around the world. Schools and learning went online, video conference participation rose dramatically, medical services
When home is an office, a church and a school
Working from home during COVID lockdowns was a chance for Fijian communications consultant Mere Tuivuniwai and her family to build resilience, flexibility and
Lessons from Volcanoes in Predicting the Next Pandemic
COVID-19 alerts and warnings can be better developed by bringing together lessons learned from natural hazards like
USP will have ‘No Jab, No School’ policy
The University of the South Pacific (USP) has adopted a ‘No Jab, No School’ policy across the region for 2022. Manager of Public Relations and Communications under the Office of the Vice Chancellor and President of
Millons lost during Solomon Islands lockdowns
Solomon Islands has lost millions of dollars in tax revenue as a result of the recent COVID-19 lockdowns imposed at the beginning of community transmission last month. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare announced the
Solomon Islands: A weak nation ravaged by a health crisis
After riots in November last year devastated certain parts of Honiara and severely crippled the Solomon Islands’ economy, the capital has been ravaged in recent weeks by the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus. The
COVID, climate, China, Compacts: Blinken’s Pacific agenda
A decade since the last visit of a U.S. Secretary of State to the Pacific Islands, the U.S. President’s chief foreign advisor, Antony Blinken visits Fiji briefly today in an effort to re-engage with Pacific
Outlook 2022: The year ahead
For the third year running, COVID-19 is defining and disrupting life, leadership and governance in the Pacific Islands. Compounded by climate change-related flooding and the devastating Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai
COVID-19 lessons for public messaging
Whether it was the early reports out of China in late 2019, the World Health Organization’s announcement of a pandemic in March 2020, or the dreaded first official announcement of an in-country case, everyone
Solomon Islands’ juggling act
By Georgina Kekea Solomon Islands was COVID-19 free until December 2021. Despite recording positive cases in isolation centres, the spread to the community was avoided. It was not until January 2022 that Prime Minister
Low vax rates threaten PNG economy
By Kevin McQuillan COVID-19 will remain a threat to the Papua New Guinea economy throughout 2022, due to the low rate of vaccination and poor health infrastructure, compounded by a lacklustre foreign investment climate.
Class dismissed? Keeping Pacific classrooms open in 2022
Will Pacific Island school children get an uninterrupted year of face-to-face learning in 2022? Governments and their partners are working hard to open classrooms, and keep them open, but the spread of the Omicron
COVID closures and Fiji schools
By Epeli Krishan Sen Vakalalabure and Lotarakuita Anand Sen Saurara Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series notes that time is a mysterious thing and, when meddled with, could have severe
Traditional medicine: Affirmation or resurgence
Fijians watched our health workers scramble to keep as COVID-19 spread its invisible tentacles through one community after another. The sirens never stopped. Sobering images of burials by strangers cloaked in protective
A fraying lifeline: Chronically under-funded and lacking resources
Pacific islands health care faces the crisis of a lifetime The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t just highlighted the Pacific’s fragile health systems. It’s amplified the central role that public health plays in all
A fraying lifeline: chronically under-funded and lacking resources
Pacific islands health care faces the crisis of a lifetime The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t just highlighted the Pacific’s fragile health systems. It’s amplified the central role that public health plays in all
“At 33 years old, I felt like I was 90”
COVID-19 challenges in Noumea and Papeete By Nic Maclellan Hina Montas was making a cup of tea and forgot to turn the gas off. It was only when her partner came home and smelt the gas filling the kitchen, that she
“It looks like malaria, dengue, pneumonia and asthma all in one”
By Scott Waide Our mother, Patricia, sits on the bed in the small room she is currently sharing with our dad, Peter. There’s an oxygen bottle at the bedside and she’s breathing through a tube. She was sleeping