Vanuatu has a new prime minister and government, who have inherited an unprecedented crisis.
The veteran politician, Bob Loughman was voted in by fellow MPs Monday and will lead a coalition made of three larger parties and a handful of independent MPs and micro-parties.
Mr Loughman unveiled his new cabinet last night, with 12 ministers including Ishmael Kalsakau, who is the new deputy Prime Minister and also Minister for Internal Affairs.
Mark Ati has been handed the Foreign Affairs portfolio.
While Vanuatu has no confirmed COVID-19 cases, it's borders have been locked down, leaving thousands of people out of work in the valuable tourism sector.
The new Health Minister Silas Bule told Pacific Beat the country also faces a major rebuilding effort after a category five cyclone caused utter devastation earlier this month.
"It's very challenging...there's a lot of work to be done especially at the moment with the global threat of the virus that is devastating the world and also the Cyclone Harold which devastated the northern part of the country," Minister Bule said.
"I know that health facilities on Pentecost [island] have been totally wiped out... hospitals, clinics, dispensaries have all been devastated .
"It's the first thing I think we will talk about when we meet as the Council of Ministers," he said.
Photo file Caption: Bob Loughman is the new Prime Minister of Vanuatu