Cyclone Pam

The affected population has received aid through a mixture of distribution, emergency training and service provision across six sectors: Health, Shelter, Education, Food Security & Livelihood, WASH, Child Protection.

With shelter, food and hygiene the most pressing needs in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone, Save the Children worked in partnership with the World Food Programme and the National Disaster Management Office to effect food distributions to the entire populations of Epi, Tongoa, the Shepherd Islands and the outer islands of Efate – almost 23,000 people.

The goal of this assessment is to understand what residual vulnerabilities and food security risks still exist throughout the islands after nearly 3 months of Cyclone Pam relief and early recovery activities.

The assessment will also capture the potential food security risks of the El Nino drought warning.

In keeping with Indigenous practice, ceremonies will be held in villages across Vanuatu to mourn the 11 people who died in the cyclone. Gathering in churches and around gravestones over the weekend, people will reflect on their lost loved ones, damaged houses, ruined food gardens.

One hundred days later, Vanuatu is recovering. Islands left brown in the aftermath are green again. Immediately after the cyclone people began to rebuild. They treated the injured, repaired their houses and, where seeds were available, replanted gardens.