New Zealand donates PPEs to VRCS

The New Zealand High Commissioner Nicola Simmonds and Red Cross President, Moses Stevens and staff posing with the donated hand sanitizer. Photo: NZ HC

By Glenda Willie

The New Zealand Government through the New Zealand High Commissioner to Vanuatu, Nicola Simmonds, handed over much-needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the Vanuatu Red Cross Society (VRCS) yesterday morning.

VRCS, being an auxiliary partner of the government, has stepped in to assist the government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic since day one.

Secretary General of VRCS, Dickinson Tevi, said that a lot of VRCS volunteers have worked alongside the health workers in conducting COVID-19 vaccination awareness, supporting vaccination rollout, involvement in the registration of COVID-19 patients, and engaging in preparing and managing the Community Isolation Centres, the VRCS’ stock on its PPEs has declined.

VRCS, therefore, requested assistance for more supplies of the PPEs through the International Federation based in Fiji, and New Zealand Government responded positively.

SG Tevi acknowledged the New Zealand government for its swift response. He said the donation was timely as their supplies have ran short.

The donation will assist VRCS in its effort to support the government tackle the COVID-19 situation. According to Tevi, the PPEs will be distributed to the VRCS staff and volunteers on Efate and Santo.

New Zealand High Commissioner, Simmonds commended VRCS for their tireless efforts in this fight, despite knowing the risks they are putting themselves in. They needed the PPEs as they are exposed to the virus.

Simmonds affirmed the New Zealand government’s ongoing support to address the COVID-19 crisis in Vanuatu. The New Zealand government partnered with the Vanuatu government in response to COVID-19 since 2020. She assured us that New Zealand will continue to support Vanuatu during this global pandemic.

Over 50 volunteers engaged in Vaccination rollout

Dec 22, 2021

OVER 50 VANUATU RED CROSS Society (VRCS) volunteers across the country have been heavily engaged in the national vaccination rollout campaign, in the provinces of TORBA, MALAMPA and TAFEA.

A high number of volunteers were recruited by the National Society and trained by the Ministry of Health to assist the Medical Health team in their respective provinces.

“Red Cross engagement has been very instrumental to the delivery of our rollout operation in the five targeted islands – prior and during the vaccination campaign,” said TORBA’s Provincial Health Center Administrator, Steven Nako..

We are so fortunate to have support form VRCS volunteers, because they are already familiar with the existing structure in the community – chiefs, women, people living disability, youth – they were tasked in the information hub to attend people’s query, in registration of client, as well as doing data entry for all vaccinated people.

“ I n a d d i t i o n , t h e s e volunteers are not just volunteers, they have other skills that are also related to health matters, like First Aid, WASH, Reporting and Finance, that eased our daily operations on the ground and at the Emergency Operation Center. It is not a wrong choice to work with Red Cross.”

In TORBA, volunteers were part of the Mobile Health team deployed in Motalava, Gaua, Merelava, Torres, Vanualava, and Ureparapara with a target to ensure 6,198 people are vaccinated.

In MALAMPA, volunteers and the mobile team commenced the campaign in the southern and South West of the island of Malekula, two weeks ago.

This week, the team is in the South West area. In TAFEA, volunteers are now on Erromango island, Aniwa and have been to Aneityum. The VRCS volunteer focuses on registering clients, providing a brief summary about the vaccine and possible side effects.

After getting vaccinated, volunteers handed the vaccination cards to the vaccinated. They have to travel long distances by vehicle, boat and walk from village to village, and house to house, but they enjoyed it because it is a great experience.

Vanuatu reflects on progress in 3rd International Humanitarian Law Roundtable

By Josepheen Tarianga, Nov 5, 2021

Vanuatu participated in the third Pacific Islands roundtable on International Humanitarian Law (IHL), jointly hosted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Government of Kiribati from 2nd to the 4th of November.

This is the third time for Vanuatu to participate. The event was conducted virtually due to the pandemic, gathering many senior government officials from 12 Pacific Island countries to discuss current issues relating to IHL.

Representatives from Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu participated along with their national Red Cross Societies, as well as attendees from New Zealand, Switzerland and other regional organisations..

Secretary General of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society (VRCS), Dickinson Tevi, said the debate has helped the authorities related to IHL assess Vanuatu’s progress.

“It is an opportunity that brings us together have the necessary discussions,” he said. “If it were not for this roundtable, we would have very rare meetings.”

Mr. Tevi explained that all countries, including in the Pacific, are parties to the Geneva Conventions, which form the bedrock of IHL. Under the Conventions, these countries share an obligation to respect and ensure respect for IHL.

The Chairman of the National IHL committee, Allanrow Bani, said through Vanuatu’s IHL committee, the Department of Foreign Affairs and relevant authorities have been successful in ratifying 80% of the IHL-related treaties and conventions.

“Among the progress we have made is the launching of the IHL handbook for parliamentarians in 2020, following the election of the new legislature as well as advancement on national consultations in relation to the Arms Trade Treaty and cluster munitions with all the relevant authorities,” he added.

ICRC Regional Legal Adviser in the Pacific, Clementine Rendle, said every country in the world, is bound by IHL.

“These laws are about reducing suffering, and protecting the safety and dignity of people affected by conflict. They are about our common shared humanity,” she said.

The roundtable allowed Pacific countries to share their progress since the 2019 roundtable and asses what need to be done in the coming future.

This is the only Pacific island roundtable that is dedicated to the discussion of armed conflict within the region every two years. It deals with the law of war or armed conflict and protects civilians and all those not taking part in conflict during times of war.

The roundtable closed with Pacific countries giving recommendations on the necessary future implementation and dissemination of IHL throughout the region.

Vanuatu Red Cross Society willing to start discussion on evictions

By Josepheen Tarianga

The Vanuatu Red Cross Society (VRCS) is willing to raise the voices of the vulnerable to the relevant authorities, as evictions have the potential to raise conflicts.

The Secretary General (SG) of the VRCS, Dickinson Tevi, states that the VRCS was asked to assist in the first eviction at the MCI area that held about 100 households. Some of the displaced families moved to the Erangorango area and are now at risk of being evicted again.

“These evictions are happening so frequently and create the potential for conflict,” Mr. Tevi said.

The VRCS has assisted in both recent evictions, working in collaboration with the SHEFA Provincial Government Council.

According to the SG, VRCS conducted a rapid assessment at the MCI eviction to find what resources were needed, identify the immediate needs and provided tarpaulins and jerry cans to the affected families.

“The assessments showed that the people living in the evicted areas had ways to move during the eviction but not fast enough, so they need tarps to cover their belongings,” he explained.

“Jerry cans were needed as they had no access to clean water in the areas they were moving to so the jerry cans were essential to help them keep water for cooking and bathing.”

These recent evictions were raised at the Pacific Islands International Humanitarian law roundtable this week. In relation to climate change and its effects, the discussion followed the talk of evictions happening presently and volcanic activity on Tanna. Mr. Tevi flagged the evictions as a continuing human disaster that is an issue in Vanuatu at present.

The SG proposed that VRCS is willing to talk with the chiefs as Vanuatu land is under custom ownership.

“We will share the eyewitness recounts of what VRCS witnessed when aiding the evicted people,” he said.

“Having the dialogue with the chiefs, an open dialogue is a start to dealing with these issues, with the relevant authorities.”

VRCS is looking to represent the voice of the disadvantaged before the relevant authorities as it feels this is one of its roles.

“This is taking a step towards the solution, VRCS will not interfere with the court’s decision but it is willing to raise the voice of the vulnerable,” SG Tevi concluded.

Victims of eviction receive emergency supplies

By Glenda Willie Oct 23, 2021

The Vanuatu Red Cross Society (VRCS) is one of the first humanitarian organisations to intervene and support the victims of the recent eviction order at MCI, on the road to Blacksand.

Emma Mesao, Senior Branch Officer to SHEFA Red Cross explained that the organisation deals with the lives of people, and they respond to natural disasters.

While the eviction is not a natural disaster, people’s living and welfare had been affected.

On Thursday, a team was deployed to the area to assess the situation and identified two priority needs, this included shelter and water.

VRCS distributed two tarpaulins and two jerry cans to each household. Over 60 households receive their share of their emergency supplies.

Mrs. Mesao confirmed that when distributing the supplies, they also encourage the people to boil water before drinking, to avoid other health issues.

Most of the families have relocated to other settlements.

A lot of them went to Blandiniere Stage Three, and Crystal Blue Area. Others went to other areas within the peri-urban areas of Port Vila, including Blacksand and Erangorango. The Red Cross team visited all the areas to distribute the water containers and tarpaulins.

Speaking on behalf of the families at MCI, Mr. Lai Sakita, conveyed acknowledgement to VRCS for providing the families with the tarpaulin and jerry cans.

These emergency supplies will allow the people to set up temporary shelters while they resettle.

SHEFA Provincial Government Council, through its National Disaster Management Office officer supported VRCS in the logistics, during the distribution roll-out.

He said these families were victims of the ash-fall from Tanna’s Yasur volcano

Water Shortage in Mota Island - Torba Province

By Glenda Willie - Daily Post Newspaper - Jul 16,2021

Two schools on Mota Island had no choice but to close their doors last week, due to escalating water crisis on the island. This is due to drought conditions they have been experiencing.

As of Friday, last week the Provincial Emergency Operation Centre (PEOC) activated it operations in response to water shortage situation. At least 572 people are currently being affected by the water scarcity.

Mr Pita Maho, President of Red Cross Torba branch Office was part of a team that was deployed to Mota Island. A team was deployed to the eastern part of the island while the second team went to the west of Mota. They conducted a rapid assessment on the current situation, particularly, on health, water and food. Mr. Maho confirmed their findings revealed that all water tanks and other water sources and catchments were empty.

Currently the villagers are sourcing their water from creeks. The situation had allowed them to find other ways to preserve remaining water from the creeks.

Water scarcity has also forced the communities to find alternatives to help them survive. Water is not the only problem they are facing.

Their crops cannot grow well due to the dry season they are going through. Currently families have reduced their meals from three times to two in a day.

Red Cross distributed water to teachers of Vasalele Primary School and Gamaral Primary School as teachers prepared home school packages for the students.

The Red Cross Torba branch president said the situation requires urgent response from provincial government as well as the government.

He urged families on the island to always boil their water prior to drinking. An appeal is being made to kava drinkers to reduce their consumption of kava. Maho also asked of the communities to cut down on gatherings and feasts to save food and water.

Red Cross partners with Shefa Health in Dengue response

By Glenda Willie

SHEFA Provincial Health in partnership with the Vanuatu Red Cross Society (VRCS), through the SHEFA Red Cross have mobilised their volunteers to areas identified with Dengue reported cases, and conducting door to door awareness in households. These areas are being referred to as Dengue hot spots.

SHEFA Province Public Health Manager, Mr. Obed Manwo said since the dengue outbreak, the health authorities had consultation meetings and developed a response plan to address the prevention of dengue transmission and protection measures.

Commencing last Friday, 20 volunteers from Red Cross went from door to door of homes around the households accommodating the dengue patients. They covered households that are 200 metres to 300 metres from the dengue cases.

A total of 18 cases were tested positive with dengue by Vila Central Hospital (VCH) and they reside in Teouma, Erakor, Pango, Nambatu, Anamburu, Tebakor, Malapoa, Blandinere, Freshwota and Beverly Hills.

Manwo explained that the volunteers conducted awareness, which include educating and advising the residents of these identified areas on ways to destroy breeding sites for mosquitoes. Garbage bags were being distributed to the households they visited and mosquito nets were also given to households with reported cases.

People were informed on what they should do when someone in their household starts showing signs of dengue.

They hand out pamphlets which contains useful information about dengue and types of mosquitoes and the protection measures.

Pamphlets were also distributed at the Convention Centre to people who go to receive their jabs. This week also, nurses from Zone One within SHEFA province attended a refresher training on the dengue outbreak.

Mrs. Emma Mesau, the Senior Branch Officer of Shefa Red Cross confirmed the volunteers were able to complete the door to door awareness yesterday. The teams are yet to go to Beverly Hills and Teouma, as they are waiting on Shefa Health team to provide the specific locations for the reported cases.

Later on in the week, the Red Cross volunteers should go to the two areas, according to the Senior Branch Officer.

Schools, churches and communities around Efate are urged to clean their yards as efforts to address the dengue outbreak.

The Shefa Health Manager acknowledged VRCS for their continuous assistance to SHEFA Health in delivering their services to the people.

Pacific: Young people encouraged to join the fight against the pandemic

Port Vila, 12 August 2021 – As global preparations take place this week to mark the celebration of International Youth Day, young people in the Pacific are urged to follow the example of Red Cross volunteers and join the battle against COVID-19, as the global pandemic continues to have significant health, social and economic impacts in all countries across the region.

The call comes after more than 700 young people recently participated in a Youth Forum as part of the second Pacific Resilience Meeting, which highlighted the critical role they have been playing – leading action on climate change, responding to disasters and thinking through a green, low-carbon recovery from COVID-19.

While young people are often referred to as the leaders of tomorrow, Fiji Red Cross volunteers are demonstrating the capacity young people have to lead right now, when given the opportunity.  Fiji is experiencing extremely high levels of community transmission of COVID-19 cases, as the Delta variant of the virus continues to spread across the country. Young people make up 75 per cent of all Fiji Red Cross volunteers, working alongside the Ministry of Health on activities such as the vaccination roll out.

Young people are leading the way on the COVID-19 response, with vaccination registrations, data entry and most importantly, helping to tackle vaccine hesitancy and the spread of misinformation about the virus. On International Youth Day, Pacific Red Cross National Societies are recognising the dedication and hard work of youth volunteers within and outside the Red Cross.

Katie Greenwood, IFRC’s Pacific Head of Delegation, said:

“We celebrate the remarkable contribution of young people in the Pacific as they play an integral role in making our communities stronger and safer. Young people are leading the way, using their diversity and energy to get targeted messages around community safety and resilience heard in every corner of the Pacific and beyond.

We continue to strongly advocate for the recognition of the critical roles played by young people in shaping our future in the Pacific; working together to tackle the growing threats from climate change and disasters.  We strongly urge that young people are given the space, the platforms and the resources to lead from the front on issues such as COVID-19, green recovery and community resilience.”

Every year, International Youth Day is held on 12 August. This year’s theme is, “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health”, with the aim of highlighting that young people are critical to achieve success of such global efforts.

To mark this event, five Pacific Red Cross Societies from the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Fiji will celebrate the day through a number of activities such as online quiz competitions, wellness campaigns, and planting food crops. Tonga Red Cross will also be launching a National Youth Policy as part of their event.

Katie Greenwood, IFRC’s Pacific Head of Delegation, said:

“We know that everyone will celebrate International Youth Day in their own special way, and it is very pleasing to see our Pacific nations showcasing this event despite the challenges we face. It is definitely worth celebrating the hard work of our young people- many of whom will be doing what they do every day- leading from the front.”

For more information, contact:

Olivia Finau, +678 7313991 / 5363203, dissemination@redcrossvanuatu.com

About VRCS

VRCS is the national Humanitarian Organizational, comprising 6 Provincial Red Cross branches working to save lives and promote dignity around the world.

https://www.vanuaturedcross.org/ - Facebook - Twitter 

Red Cross undertakes baseline study on disaster resilience

By Glenda Willie - Daily Post Newspaper

Officers of the Vanuatu Red Cross Society (VRCS) recently undertook a two-week baseline study on Building Resilient Community in Vanuatu (BRCV), targeting 10 communities in West of Santo.

The survey aimed at confirming the current status of these 10 communities on how they respond to disasters and issues that have impacted the lives of the people.

Interviews were made with people and questions asked surrounded household needs, how the villagers respond when they were encountered with issues relating to natural hazards, health problems including any knowledge on first aid. Questions involved shelter needs, availability of evacuation centres, what sort of government services they are benefitting from, infrastructure issues, sanitation and hygiene, water and food security.

They were also asked about their approach in seeking assistance when faced with a disaster.

Information collected from their interviews would help Red Cross plan and carry out its programs in the communities.

Nicholson Naki, Data and GIS Officer with VRCS who led the Sanma team admitted that they were faced with challenges which contributed to delaying the implementation of the survey. He said in the communities, the villagers have their own routine which meant that the Red Cross team had to be patient and wait for the villagers’ timing.

Similarly to many other areas in rural parts of Vanuatu, telecommunication coverage is very poor. It was hard to communicate with the main office in Port Vila. Bade weather, poor infrastructures and deteriorating road conditions were some of the challenges mentioned by Mr. Naki.

He stressed that despite these challenges, the team managed to complete their survey.

A similar baseline survey is expected to be conducted on Emae island.

MOTA communities receive water - Torba Province

By Glenda Willie - Daily Post Newspaper

As of last Friday, the Government, in collaboration with the Vanuatu Red Cross Society (VRCS), made six boat trips from Sola to Mariu village, one of the 11 villages on the island, to supply water.

This is to ensure the people have access to safe and clean drinking water.

Mota communities are affected by drought conditions resulting in water shortage.

A water tank of 1,100 litres was placed at the shores of Mariu village and the response team filled jerry cans from Sola and refilled the tank on Mariu, for each respective community.

Red Cross Branch Officer for TORBA Province, Keith David, explained that each community would have their turns to fetch their water from the tank at Mariu.

He said the water tank was placed at Mariu because this particular village has easy boat access to the beach.

Last Friday, the response team, which also included the VRCR volunteers, transported 740 litres of water for Liwotqwei Village. This village has the highest population, compared to other villages on Mariu.

All the water tanks in this community were empty, therefore, the people had to walk very long distances for more than an hour to fetch their water from a creek at Tanarosa village.

John Laurence, a father from the community expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the government and VRCS for responding to their need for water.

The people had to collect water from the creeks but it is not healthy and safe for drinking.

He said the people drink coconut or sugarcane to quench their thirst.

Mr. Laurence cannot say exactly how long the water will last as it depends on how each household from their community will be using it.