Results for Pacific Islands

The economies of the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, and Tonga will continue to decline in 2021. “The COVID-19 pandemic is the worst economic crisis in the history of these countries,” said economist James Webb. “While lives have been saved, livelihoods have been lost.” Economic recovery in tourism-dependent Polynesian countries will be slow, says a new ADB report.

COVID-19 cases in Fiji continue to increase with six new cases confirmed yesterday, 27 April, bringing the total to 42 active cases, according to health officials. Recent cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed to be the B1617 variant that was first detected in India. Dr James Fong has warned Fijians to stay at home because “any person-to-person contact outside your home could get you infected.”

Tonga will receive USD$5.5 million to help roll out its vaccination program, after the Asian Development Bank today, approved USD$18.9 million in grants to help four developing member countries in the Pacific roll out safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus disease COVID-19.

New research reveals the chances of the New Zealand South Island’s Alpine Fault generating a damaging earthquake in the next 50 years are much higher than previously thought. The probability of that earthquake occurring before 2068 is about 75 percent, says Dr Jamie Howarth of the Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington today in a published study.

Pacific Island countries, including Tonga, are preparing for the new edition of the Harmonized System (HS 2022) used to classify traded goods which will come into force on 1 January 2022.

The first coordinated fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance operation for 2021 called Operation Rai Balang was completed last week in eight Pacific nations.

A Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment study will be conducted in 15 Pacific Island countries, including Tonga to provide a snapshot of their primary school students’ grasp of basic literacy and numeracy skills.

In the Pacific Islands, evidence of climate change is all around us, but when dozens of images showing its impact across the Pacific come together in one room, it is sobering and challenging to the viewer. Photographs submitted by amateur photographers of all ages capture the immediacy of of the harmful effects of climate change, in a competition organised by the UK Government, on display in Nuku'alofa.

UPDATED: Fiji has received 12,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, making it the first Pacific Island country to receive a rollout under the COVAX facility. Around 6,000 frontline workers are expected to receive the first doses.