Building on Vanuatu’s progress towards the Millennium Development Goal 7 (MDG7) target to reduce the number of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015, and progressive national planning towards the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6), the Vanuatu National Sustainable Development Plan 2016 (NSDP) includes a policy objective (ECO2.2) “Ensure all people have reliable access to safe drinking water and sanitation infrastructure.”
National Water Policy Priorities
The Vanuatu National Water Policy (2017-2030) seeks to deliver the policy objectives established by the National Sustainable Development Plan (2016-2030) at:
- ECO 2.2 to ensure safe water services for all
- ENV 4.2 to protect community water sources
- ENV 4.7 to build community natural resource management capacity
- SOC 3.2 to reduce communicable diseases
- SOC 6.5 to strengthen local authorities to enable decentralised service delivery
- SOC 6.6 to strengthen physical planning to meets the need of a growing population
The Forty-Seventh Pacific Islands Forum was held in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia from 8 – 10 September 2016 and was attended by Heads of State and Government of Australia, the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The Solomon Islands was represented by their Deputy Prime Minister, the Republic of Fiji, Niue and the Republic of Palau by their Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Kiribati by a Special Envoy.
This Report is the result of collaboration between the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
The World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 provides a unique opportunity for governments, UN agencies and civil society actors to set an ambitious agenda for empowering women and girls as change agents and leaders in humanitarian action and ensuring gender responsive humanitarian programming. However for these commitments to translate into meaningful action, it is critical to respond to the barriers that currently impact women’s leadership in emergencies, and build upon the existing efforts of women first responders and women-led organisations.