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Papua New Guinea’s Health Minister declared that COVID-19 is “under control” despite case numbers continuing to climb, Hugh McClure writes COVID-19 case numbers have increased substantially in Fiji this fortnight. 1,206 cases have been identified to date and five deaths recorded. On Wednesday 16 June, the country reported its highest daily case numbers on record,…

Local solutions are required to boost community self-reliance in Pacific disaster response, writes Anouk Ride and colleagues.  In 2009, this author was in and around Gizo, Solomon Islands talking to people about the impacts of aid in the aftermath of a tsunami and earthquake for a book chapter. At that time, government officials, service providers,…

Border closures due to COVID-19 have forced many Pacific countries to become more self-reliant in times of natural disaster, Kira Osborne and colleagues write. Prior to 2020, ‘localisation’ was fast becoming the latest addition to the international aid and development buzzword dictionary. The Pacific was no exception, but pathways to put words into meaningful action…

While much of the Pacific has kept the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic under control so far, Papua New Guinea still may not have reached the peak of the crisis, Ben Bohane writes for the Pacific Wayfinder series. When Dr Henry Ivarature left his Port Moresby home earlier this year to move to Canberra,…

Papua New Guinea is reporting higher than expected vaccination numbers, whilst Fiji has announced it will be opening temporary hospitals to deal with the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, Hugh McClure writes. The COVID-19 situation in Fiji has escalated considerably this fortnight. 264 cases have been recorded in the past 14 days, bringing the country’s…

For effective cooperation in combatting transnational crime, Australia and New Zealand need to look at a hybrid system of policing underpinned by cultural awareness, Jose Sousa-Santos writes. At his farewell parade in Nuku’alofa, Tonga’s recently departed Police Commissioner Stephen Caldwell highlighted the challenges posed by the increasing prevalence of illicit drugs in the community and…