Women

The Director General (DG) at the Prime Minister’s Office, Cherol Ala, described the ongoing disaster operations as “a (team sport) because when the government moves it connects all Government agencies, development partners, and non-government organizations.”

She said for the first time, Vanuatu adopted a different approach during the response and recovery process after a natural disaster.

“We have changed the old way of work (for the transition from response to recovery) from six months to three months” she said.

Timaima Vulimailaucala told RNZ Pacific that today is the most important day for all Fijians.

"It is an important processor as citizens to come forward and cast your vote because whichever government of the day gets elected is because of your effort to cast your vote and make it known that this is what you wanted.

"There's a long queue here, people are going away because of the queue but I would recommend or ask them to come back. This is the only day that you can make a change.

The study, published in peer-reviewed journal Current Medical Research and Opinion, found women were significantly more likely to suffer from Long Covid than men.

Conducted by researchers from the Johnson & Johnson Office of the Chief Medical Officer health of women team in the US, the study analysed data from about 1.3 million patients.

It found women with Long Covid were presenting with a variety of symptoms including ear, nose, and throat issues; mood, neurological, skin, gastrointestinal and rheumatological disorders; as well as fatigue.

Only a handful of female leaders including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern are on the United Nations' climate panel.

The others include German chancellor Angela Merkel, Barbados' president Mia Mottley, Iceland's prime minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas and the head of UN Climate Change Patricia Espinosa.

Many governments claim that 45 percent of their COP26 teams are women.

Cricket is her passion, as it is for many women in Vanuatu - an archipelago across the Coral Sea from Australia, whose population of 307,000 is roughly the same as Nottingham. Its women's T20 team ranks 28th in the world, making it probably the country's most successful sporting side.

Despite that, traditional values have created barriers that have prevented many of Vanuatu's 'mamas' from playing sport - but the Vanuatu Cricket Association (VCA) is trying to change that.

Her father was a leader of the independence movement in Vanuatu and, following in her father’s footsteps, Jennifer has been a tireless advocate for developmental and inclusive leadership in her country. As part of International Women’s Day celebrations in March, the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation invited Jennifer to be part of a public panel on women in leadership. This is her statement translated from Bislama.

As one reads the brochure, it evokes a sense of warmth, tenderness and love and it’s perhaps these instincts and the resilience of those behind the business that has seen it navigate the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Founder Neil Netaf said Covid-19 has little impact as the main big business buyer in Port Vila still continues to buy from them on monthly basis.

This is Netaf’s story.

The journey

Despite this, Pacific businesses continue to adapt; an increasing number have scaled back operations, with fully operational female-led businesses decreasing to 23 per cent (down from 29 percent during Survey 4 of the PTI Pacific Business Monitor), and partially operational businesses increasing from 29 per cent to 41 per cent.

Commenting on the Survey 5 findings, PTI Australia Trade & Investment Commissioner Caleb Jarvis noted that the pandemic is biting hard for all businesses – particularly those led by women.

Vanuatu's government has this week been undergoing its universal periodic review at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

A number of countries have sought updates on gender equality from Vanuatu.

Indonesia's representative, Irwansyah Mukhlis, said his country had deep concerns regarding the condition of women in Vanuatu.

He said despite Vanuatu's attempts at improving human rights since its last review, violence against women remained a problem.

The nakamal is the place where ni-Vanuatu traditionally come together to consume kava, the root-based brew which plays a fundamental role in Vanuatu society.

Being able to tap into this space has helped the women and their families financially.

Asnette Nasse lives in the Freshwater area in the capital Port Vila and is part of the 20 Vatu business scheme.

Most evenings, Asnette and her friends sell home-cooked food to the patrons of kava clubs.

She says the money helps with school fees, food and electricity and they make can decent money.