Attachments
Overview
The Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) continued to face significant challenges due to high disaster risk, compounded by unique challenges such as geographical dispersion and market access constraints. The region encountered major natural hazards, including tropical cyclones Judy and Kevin in Vanuatu, which led to a state of emergency affecting 80 percent of the population. Disasters have a disproportionate impact on women, minorities, and people with disabilities in terms of food security and nutrition. The aftermath of COVID-19, combined with the global food crisis, heightened existing development challenges, threatening the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
WFP focuses on partnerships and innovation, employing the cluster approach to lead national capacity strengthening in logistics, emergency telecommunications, social protection and food security. It also aims to enable and enhance the effectiveness of humanitarian responses through the delivery of common services.
As the leader of the Pacific Logistics Cluster (PLC), WFP continued to improve emergency preparedness and response logistics across the PICTs. In collaboration with PICTs governments, WFP conducted logistics capacity assessments, providing baseline information related to humanitarian emergency preparedness and response, covering logistics infrastructure, processes, regulations, markets, and key stakeholders' contacts. WFP also published logistics maps for 11 PICTs, enabling logisticians in the Pacific to strategize and coordinate logistics activities effectively.
WFP continued leading the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) in the Pacific, supporting governments and other regional stakeholders in enhancing emergency telecommunication systems and capacities. In partnership with Pacific governments, WFP conducted information and communication technology capacity assessments, identifying operational gaps and setting baselines for upgrading emergency telecommunications tools. WFP rolled out training sessions in Tonga and Fiji to enhance the governments’ emergency communication capabilities. At the 23rd Asia-Pacific Telecommunication Policy and Regulatory Forum, WFP facilitated discussions around disaster resilience and emergency information and communications technology infrastructure for sustainable development.
WFP continued to ramp up its efforts in enhancing the national and regional system architecture and improving the knowledge base of food security through evidence generation to inform effective government policy formulation and programming. WFP collaborated with national counterparts in five countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu) to collect cross-sectional data through its mobile vulnerability analysis and mapping (mVAM) tool. The mVAM platform provides well-visualized public data for governments, key partners and stakeholders, allowing identification of food security trends for external users. WFP continued with capacity-strengthening support to Government counterparts and strengthened government-led national food security and nutrition monitoring systems by integrating WFP mVAM indicators into national systems. In collaboration with the University of the South Pacific, WFP conducted activities to assess market capacity in Fiji and Samoa.
WFP strengthened social protection systems in the Pacific to help families meet their essential needs and manage risks and shocks. WFP held an anticipatory action in the Pacific sensitization workshop jointly with UN agencies and Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP) agencies, involving National Disaster Management Offices (NDMO), Meteorological Services and Red Cross Societies from 14 Pacific countries and territories. Following this, WFP worked with the Ministry for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation[1] on a UN-Central Emergency and Response Fund anticipatory action pilot project, where WFP seeks to provide cash to social welfare beneficiaries through the existing government system in advance of a cyclone. The WFP-led Pacific Cash Working Group (PCWG) launched the Interactive Pacific Cash and Voucher Assistance Dashboard in February 2023, offering partners an overview of engagements and available resources in the region.
In response to the devastation caused by the Category 4 tropical cyclones Judy and Kevin in Vanuatu in March, WFP transported critical cargo by air and sea to provide essential medical and food supplies to affected people. WFP also established emergency telecommunications connectivity services, enabled national and provincial emergency operation centres to coordinate assistance, supported the Vanuatu Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC), and provided remote coordination and information management support.
This report covers the period from January to June 2023 as WFP started the implementation of a new Multi-Country Strategic Plan (MCSP) for 2023-2027 in July 2023. The new plan allows WFP to continue leading regional clusters while expanding its focus on capacity strengthening in the region and setting out a clearly defined approach to crisis response.