Results for SIDS

Tonga is hosting the Regional Preparatory Meeting of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS), that opened yesterday at Fa’onelua Convention Center, yesterday, 16 August. About 70 international delgates are gathered to prepare for the 4th International Conference on SIDS, to be held in May next year.

Officials from small island developing States in the Pacific region are meeting in Nuku’alofa to review progress in implementing the SAMOA Pathway - the dedicated programme of action for small island developing States (SIDS).

In the Pacific, non-communicable diseases account for around 70% of all deaths, in Fiji that number is 80%, and the tragedy is that most of these deaths are preventable, Dr Tim Martyn of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation in Fiji told delegates from Small Island States, meeting in Suva. Delegates looked at a Global Action Plan to respond to the food and nutrition challenges. People are eating food they can afford and that "is what is making them sick,” he said.

Tonga’s future is not on land but in its marine area on the continental shelf, and “we want to help Tonga tap into the Blue Economy,” said Deodat Maharaj, the Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General, during his one-day stop over in Tonga on 15 September. By Pesi Fonua

One in three Pacific children under the age of five are stunted, UNICEF's Olav Kjorven, told the Small Islands Developing States conference in Samoa this week. “Under nutrition early in life contributes directly to a propensity for obesity in adulthood. We need to address both sides of this issue,” he urged.

Durable partnerships between small island states and their developing partners will be a way forward for small island states to achieve sustainable development, adapting to climate change while providing a decent standard of living for all, with lasting economic growth.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General was made a Samoan Chief yesterday, 31 August.