Islands govts not showing enough progress: UN

Pacific islands governments are not showing enough progress in addressing major urban problems such as housing, sanitation and waste management, the United Nations says after a six-month examination of city planning in the region.
The assessment by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) expresses concern at the lack of action by governments and regional donors in addressing pressing urban development and management issues.
“Governments need to give urban planning greater attention,” says UN-HABITAT Pacific Programme Manager, Sarah Mecartney.
“We discussed in Palau how the main urban area of Koror is the gateway to the nation, and yet the national government provides little support for planning [there].”
The same issues are magnified in Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands, where poor high-density housing and inadequate sanitation pose major social and environmental risks, particularly given the lack of land and few, if any, open spaces.
“In Jenrok village (in Majuro), we have nearly 2,000 people living in a tiny area. Household sizes range between about nine and 30 adults and children. This is one of the most densely populated places in the Pacific,” Mecartney says.
According to ESCAP Regional Adviser Alastair Wilkinson, Pacific cities are important as they provide employment, are responsible for a significant proportion of GDP and are the only places where key social services are provided, particularly major hospitals, schools and tertiary training institutions.
“Our mission to Vanuatu focused on the need for a national policy framework for urban development, and in the Solomon Islands we focused on informal or squatter settlements. The results of the November 2009 census in the Solomon Islands will provide important insights into population growth in Honiara,” he says.
Mecartney notes that Papua New Guinea is starting to address its serious urban planning issues through the development of a national policy, which is in the final stages of development, while Samoa has established a Planning and Urban Management Agency to address planning in Apia.
“Fiji has also made good progress over the last few years, although expanding squatter settlements in greater Suva threaten to overwhelm local authorities. We can learn from the experiences of other Pacific Islands countries,” she says.
Wilkinson says the UN provides technical expertise to support national efforts at the request of governments, and has seen an increase in demand for assistance over the last few years.
“We expect to do more over the coming years. Even the smaller atoll countries such as Tuvalu are struggling to come to terms with urban planning, housing and waste management,” he says.
The UN is planning a joint mission with the Commonwealth Local Government Forum to Funafuti, Tuvalu, early this year, and is also hoping to explore in detail community planning concerns within squatter settlements around Honiara in collaboration with the Honiara City Council and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum.
UN-HABITAT and ESCAP work closely with a range of other regional organisations to assist and advise Pacific Islands countries to implement the Pacific Urban Agenda on urban planning and management. The Pacific Urban Agenda was developed at a regional workshop convened by ESCAP, UN-HABITAT and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in 2003.
The Pacific Urban Agenda was identified in the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat’s Pacific Plan as a priority concern in 2005.
ESCAP and UN-HABITAT, together with the Commonwealth Local Government Forum Pacific Office, Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, make up a coalition of organisations based in the Pacific region with expertise to assist countries address urban development concerns.

---

Aust company to help immunise Pacific infants

The Australian company SunRice has joined the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in an ambitious plan to immunise about 60,000 Pacific Islands infants against the killer diseases measles and hepatitis B.
This is part of a major push to lift health standards in 14 countries across the Pacific region. The UNICEF Pacific Programme’s aim is to eliminate measles, control hepatitis B and maintain a polio-free status.
“UNICEF is grateful to partners like SunRice for assisting in the on-going battle to provide timely vaccination campaigns,” said UNICEF Pacific chief of health and sanitation, Dr Eliab Some.
Speaking from the UNICEF Pacific office in Suva, Fiji, Dr Some confirmed progress had been achieved in combatting both the measles and hepatitis B viruses in the islands states.
“But they are still a life-threatening risk to Pacific children,” he said. “About 20 percent on average are not immunised against measles and hepatitis.”
SunRice chief executive officer Gary Helou described the project as breaking new ground in co-operation in the Pacific between a commercial company and the UN agency.
“As far as we are aware, it is the largest Pacific regional public health initiative undertaken by a corporation working with UNICEF,” said Helou.
“We believe the support we are giving UNICEF sets a new Pacific standard for the scale of combined effort for this sort of joint endeavour. We would like this partnership to be on-going,” Helou said.
He says regional countries are important markets for SunRice and its other rice brands, Island Sun, Sunwhite and Solrice.
“We have served Pacific Islands states for more than 30 years by supplying high quality rice as a staple food,” Helou said.
“The vaccination initiative is our way of contributing further to the Islands. It is part of an expanded approach by SunRice to exercising social responsibility. This is an opportunity to make a real difference in meeting the challenges of infant immunisation in isolated and scattered communities.
“SunRice is about family brands and we see a very strong link between this and the UNICEF mission to protect and improve the welfare of children.”
SunRice’s commitment to the immunisation programme helps to fund vaccines, implement a ‘cold chain’ system of transport, and distribute, store and maintain vaccine equipment. Also included is training of workers to support the program.
The “cold chain” aspect, which relates to the transport and storage of vaccines, is critical to the project. It ensures that during a five-week journey from the manufacturers in Europe, vaccines are kept in cold, or refrigerated conditions, to prevent them spoiling, especially in tropical climates.
When they arrive at their Pacific destinations, the vaccines must be stored at the right temperatures until they are used for immunisation. The “cold chain” delivery system applies even when vaccines have to be carried by tiny boats and by hand to get them to children in need in isolated areas.
This is why SunRice’s involvement in providing equipment and resources is key to the delivery of the vaccination me.
The immunisation results will help participating countries in their attempts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of United Nations benchmarks for improving living standards. The UNICEF vaccine programme will help Pacific Islands states progress towards the goal of reducing child mortality.
“SunRice is pleased to be a partner in this programme; it is about giving back to Pacific Islands communities by making a real difference to children’s health,” said Helou.