PENAMA Province

The delegation included the Director of the Vanuatu Skills Partnership, Fremden Yanhambath, Director of Tertiary Education, John Kaltau, representative of the Public Service Commission, and representatives of the Australian High Commission.

The Vanuatu Skills Partnership, through its Ambae Recovery Project, has been working with the Government with the aim to build back the livelihoods of the people of Ambae in line with the Government's Ambae Recovery Plan 2019-2022.

RNZ Pacific's correspondent in Vanuatu reports chief Visisio Bubunbah as saying the government has under-estimated the omicron situation on the island.

Bubunbah said locals believe the virus is now covering the whole island after it was first detected on Pentecost last Wednesday.

Forty-three cases have now been detected on the island after the discovery that 27 students at Ranwadi School were infected, after authorities originally determined they had had the flu.

But testing around Pentecost had to be suspended at the weekend due to a shortage of testing materials.

RNZ Pacific's Vanuatu correspondent Hilaire Bule reported that Melsisi Health Centre on Pentecost was prevented from delivering babies because the Penama health team was using the facility for Covid-19 testing.

They discovered the Covid outbreak on Friday when 77 students at the island's Ranwadi Secondary School tested positive.

The mother successfully delivered her baby at home - only about 300 metres from the Melsisi Health Centre - with help from a traditional midwife but without the aid of the medical centre's nurses.

The Daily Post Newspaper said the CEO's decision has been made after the Penama Provincial Government gave an assurance there is a plot of land to build the new Vanuatu National Provident Fund branch Office.

The announcement has been welcome by professional Ambaeans in both the public and private sectors in Luganville and Port Vila.

The Daily Post newspaper said the group made a unanimous decision to adopt former US President Barack Obama's saying of 'Yes we can do it' by pulling their resources together to purchase 19 solar panels for the project.

The young people, who plant kava, agreed to harvest their kava and contribute at least one trunk toward the project.

They sold three bags of kava in Port Vila and used the money to buy the panels and set up their 'street lights', which automatically switch on every evening at 6pm.

The new development will support and strengthen the population’s livelihood as they recover from both disasters of the Lonbenben volcano and Tropical Cyclone Harold.

The unit now houses a new chicken egg incubator with a capacity of hatching 528 eggs per hatch, and a brooder house to raise chicks up to table and market size.

VSP Director Fremden Shadrack encouraged poultry producers throughout PENAMA to use this opportunity to rebuild their lives, especially to increase chicken and duck population to meet table and market demand within the province.