Churches

But a widespread, co-operative effort is underway to make sure congregations and communities know what to do in a disaster and react with a plan – not panic.

Secretary of the Vanuatu Christian Council Pastor Shem Temar said the churches are now taking the lead as the threat of more damaging events grows.

“The government, and other NGOs, we are working with the same populations,” he says.

“Most of the population in Vanuatu goes to church."

Official figures show around 60,000 people in PNG have had their first dose of a vaccine, and just 1900 have had both.

A recent survey by PNG’s health department, found that just 39 per cent of people - excluding health workers - were willing to take a COVID-19 vaccine.

Church officials and leaders are now being drafted in to the fight online conspiracy theories and encourage vaccinations.

Dr Alphonse Aime is the Head of the Communications department at the Divine Word University and says more needs to be done to counter the anti-vaccination messages.

This comes after Prime Minister Bob Loughman instructed the Chairman of Vanuatu's Christian Council, Pastor Alain Nafuki, to write to the Minister of Finance to ask if churches could be entitled to receive funds.

The emergency budget has been approved by the Council of Ministers with the idea that the majority of it was to rescue businesses in the hospitality and tourism industry which had laid off staff or closed due to the coronavirus global epidemic.

RNZI reports they attended recent workshops by the Channels of Hope programme to learn how they could provide effective counselling on family violence within their communities.

Programme manager Pastor Fiama Rakau said it was the first time church leaders had addressed violence as an issue in Vanuatu's culture.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, made the comment ahead of a lecture that will be delivered in Fiji's capital today.

The second-highest cleric in the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Sentamu is on a visit Samoa, Tonga and Fiji to lead a series of Leadership Reflections on Climate Change at the invitation of the Rev Dr Winston Halapua, the Archbishop of Polynesia.

“Climate change affects everyone: agriculture, tourism, fisheries, water, health and wellbeing," Dr Sentamu said.