Fiji

The need to accelerate climate change adaptation and improve multi-hazard early warning systems to increase resilience to extreme weather took centre-stage at WMO’s Regional Association for Asia and the Pacific (RAV), hosted by Tonga from 15-17 October.

Pacific countries presented the status of progress in the development of their early warning systems as part of a three-year project entitled “Strengthening Hydro-meteorological and Early Warning Services in the Pacific”.

Representatives from Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu provided updates at a session in Tonga on progress and priorities.

Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall can pose threats to our livelihoods and health by impacting the quality of water we drink, the food we consume, and the weather we experience.

But there are also vector-borne diseases (carried by mosquitoes and other insects), and water-borne bacteria and viruses, that become prevalent during periods of high and low rainfall, which pose great health risks to local populations. For example, increased risks of contracting dengue fever, chikungunya, malaria, and other diseases.

The following syndromes have been flagged this week:

• Acute Fever and Rash: Samoa

• Influenza-like illness: Northern Marianna Islands

Other Update:

Invasive Meningococcal Disease

Faits marquants intervenus depuis la diffusion de la carte précédente sur PacNet, le 1 octobre 2018 :

• Tonga : L’épidémie de dengue de type 2 a été déclarée éteinte.. ‒ Source: communication personnelle avec les autorités sanitaires le 8 octobre 2018. ‒ L’alerte ne figure plus sur la carte.

The Caritas State of the Environment for Oceania Report: Waters of Life, Oceans of Mercy - Releases today

Climate action should prioritise the poor – Caritas Report

In its fifth environment report for Oceania, Caritas has called for an integrated approach to tackling climate change that prioritises the needs of the poor. The call comes ahead of the release of a Special Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

From the editors

In her Foreword to this issue of FMR, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, poses the question: Where do we go from here?

Autres informations utiles (cas importés/personnes ayant séjourné dans un ou plusieurs États et Territoires insulaires océaniens) :

AG/12071

Assemblée générale Plénière
Soixante-treizième session, 12e & 13e séances plénières, matin & après-midi

GA/12071

General Assembly Plenary
Seventy-third Session, 12th & 13th Meetings (AM & PM)

As the General Assembly entered the fourth day of its general debate today, world leaders once again called to the fore the threats posed by climate change and unilateralism and their impact on international peace and security, while also highlighting several successful transitions from conflict to peace as proof that diplomacy and multilateralism are effective and offer a hopeful sign for the future.

by Olivia Warrick

Disaster managers from Pacific Red Cross National Societies this week held their annual forum in Fiji’s RakiRaki Town, where discussions centred on “putting the last mile first” through early warning early action.

A global El Niño watch is currently in effect and the workshop was seen as timely since this could have potentially severe, but opposite, effects in different parts of the Pacific region.

The following syndromes have been flagged this week:

• Acute Fever and Rash: Samoa

• Influenza-like illness: Palau

• Dengue-like illness: Samoa

Other Updates:

Dengue

The following syndromes have been flagged this week:

• Acute Fever and Rash: American Samoa

• Prolonged Fever: Tonga

Other Updates:

Polio

Governments now have access to a large and growing range of financing instruments for rapidly mobilizing funds in the aftermath of a disaster. Instruments like reserve funds, contingent lines of credit, and insurance programs are critical for financing relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts, and they have a demonstrated impact on the ability of governments to manage large-scale disasters.

Introduction

Climate change in the Pacific

Small island developing states (SIDS) are among the most vulnerable to our changing climate. People living in the western tropical Pacific SIDS are already experiencing higher temperatures, shifts in rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events. Further changes on top of an existing, naturally variable climate are expected long into the future because of global warming.

The following syndromes have been flagged this week:

• Acute Fever and Rash: Palau, FSM, Kiribati, Vanuatu, American Samoa

• Diarrhoea: Tokelau

Other Updates:

Polio