Vanuatu

A statement from the Ministry said as of January 29, 2019, two cases have been confirmed by clinical testing

The cases are Okoro village in Santo and Aore Island.

MOH confirmed that the two victims were hospitalized at Northern Provincial Hospital in Santo and are being carefully monitored by the focal surveillance officer in Luganvillle.

The Ministry of Health is advising parents that Pertussis is preventable and urges them to ensure that their children are up-to-date in their vaccination schedule.

Thousands of former Ambae residents remain in temporary settlements on nearby Santo, in often flimsy and leaky tents.

Kevin Kapalu from World Vision Vanuatu says thousands of people remaining on Santo are already suffering because of heavy rainfall.

But he said if there is not enough warning, a cyclone could be devastating for the evacuees.

"It will be another challenge if there's another cyclone within this cyclone period, then that will add another disaster on top, so they will become more vulnerable."

“New Zealand and Vanuatu have worked together in the law enforcement and justice sectors for a long time. We’re now looking to extend that cooperation by providing additional support to the Vanuatu Police Force and significantly stepping-up our defence assistance,” said New Zealand High Commissioner to Vanuatu, Jonathan Schwass.

New Zealand will provide NZ $7 million [VUV 540 million] in policing support, including the deployment of three New Zealand Police officers to advise on community and preventative policing, road policing, prosecutions, and investigations.

The Ministry is reminding people with these conditions that these products have not undergone the same level of clinical assessment as medicines prescribed by doctors.

It said prescribed medicines should not be stopped unless there's advice from a doctor or nurse.

A statement from the Ministry said most of the products are promoted, sometimes untruthfully, as cures or health aids for patients.

It said the products were often expensive and for this reason people think they must be good.

Highlighted on the front page of the Daily Post as "Blacksands Pot Bust", the uprooted plants filled an entire police van.

Police have arrested two men from Tanna thought to be the growers.

Another two men were also arrested on Tanna for planting marijuana.

It is against the law to cultivate, use or sell marijuana in Vanuatu.

Hundreds of people from four villages in South East Ambrym have been relocated to safe zones on Ambrym after eruptions of the island's twin volcanoes destroyed homes.

Vanuatu's Geohazards Department said the island's two volcanoes Mount Marum and Mount Benbow were at alert level 3 indicating a minor eruption state.

Malampa's Provincial Secretary General, Neil Netaf, said his team was working with chiefs and landowners on neighbouring Malekula to identify safe zones to become evacuation centres.

Kingdom Builders, consist of young men from different denominations on Vanua Lava, Banks.

These young men were given the opportunity to visit Tagabe Agriculture farm in Port Vila on Wednesday.

The minister for national security Andrew Napuat said a policy paper to amend the Police Act has been prepared including removing the power to select recruits from the Police Commissioner and his team.

The Daily Post said the new policy sought to appoint an independent body to take over the responsibility.

The minister said the amendment was necessary to stop nepotism or what he refers to as "family business".

The minister said the amended Police Act would ensure new recruits come from all six provinces.

The tour will see the Westfield Junior Matildas travel to a number of countries in the Pacific, including Vanuatu, to participate in international friendly matches against counterpart Pacific women’s national teams.

While in the Pacific, the team will support the growth of women’s football and build relationships across the region through the delivery of coaching clinics and community engagement activities, as well as collaborate with Australian High Commissions and Embassies in-country.

Mr Naviti made the statement during the official opening of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) annual planning retreat on Friday last week.

He said the MALFFB has Corporate polices, overarching productive policies for productive sectors, which have expired and work is in progress to develop another one for the next four years, different sector policies under different department and other policies.