NEWSPAGE 15 February
2010

(Photo: New Zealand Government)

NEW ZEALAND: NZ support for Cooks following Cyclone Pat

(Photo: Samoa Government)

SAMOA: Parliamentary Updates
Source: Government Press Secretariat Press Release

Dog and Cat Sterilisation Campaign

Cabinet has approved Dog and Cat Sterilisation Campaign to be conduct in Samoa from the 22nd February - 13th March.

The campaign is conducted under a Memorandum of Understanding between various Government Ministries, the Animal Protection Society and a Group of Volunteers representing Animal Balance from America.

The three weeks program is scheduled to start on the 22nd of February until 13th March with hopes to cover most part of the country.

A number of 25 - 30 volunteers from America will be working on this program.


Prohibition Order on the Importation of Eggs

Cabinet has approved the Prohibition Order on the importation of Eggs without Sell-By Dates (OR Expiration Dates or Best Before Dates).

The Prohibition Order made pursuant to section 49 of the Customs Act 1977, aimed to promote Public Health and Food Security. The Order will come into effect once it is signed by His Highness the Head of State.


Office of the Electoral Commissioner to relocate to Mulinuu

Cabinet has approved the relocation of the Office of the Electoral Commissioner (OEC) from its old location at Lalovaea to Mulinuu.

The building occupied by the OEC at Lalovaea is run down with water leakages during heavy rainfalls. There is also limited parking space for vehicles and not enough space for the public when visiting the office for registration purposes.

The record room is not safe because of water leakages. There is also the risk of fire hazard because of the condition of the building that currently house the OEC and the unhealthy situation for the public.
 

(Photos: Elizabeth Ballering)

AMERICAN SAMOA: Official at LBJ hospital confident funds can be found
Source: Radio New Zealand International

The chief medical officer at the LBJ Medical Centre in American Samoa is confident that the Governor will find the necessary funds to revive off island medical referrals.

Governor Togiola Tulafono says he’s sourcing revenue ideas and Fono support to restart the programme.

Taulapapa Dr Aloiamoa Anesi supports the move and says at least

5 million US dollars is needed at this stage.

Although its been two years since the programme was put on hold, he says staff have still been able to assist patients requiring off shore care.

“We put it on hold because we did not have the funding but that doesnt mean that we are not helping patients to go off-island. We provide the referral notes, we help out with relocating and acceptance decisions and we also help out with locating medical escorts. The Governor and the authority are looking into ways of pocuring funds to get our programme started again.”

Taulapapa Dr Aloiamoa Anesi says patients currently either rely on health insurance or pay for their own care, which is costly.

Photo Captions:  The Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Center.
 

(Photo: Fiji Times)

FIJI: Order hands over parish
Source: Fiji Times

The reins of Lami Parish have been handed over to the Archdiocese of Suva by the Marist Fathers.

Vicar General and the new Lami Parish priest, Father Beni Kaloudau, of the Diocesan Order, said Fiji was indebted to the Marist Order.

He said ever since it began in Lakeba, Lau, 166 years ago, the Lami Parish had been run by the Order until last Saturday when the local church of the Archdiocese of Suva took over the ministry in the Lami Parish.

"As missionaries, to them it is time to hand the local church to the Archdiocese so that they are able to go on missionary work elsewhere," Fr Beni said.

"The Archdiocese of Suva is indebted to the Marist Order for their missionary zeal and the difficulties of the past which they endured.

"It is through their work that the Catholic faith has grown in Fiji and now it is the vocation of the local church to continue where the Marist have successfully left off."

As parish priest, Fr Beni will remain Vicar General until the Vatican appoints a new Archbishop to replace the retired, Petero Mataca.

The new Archbishop will then select a new Vicar General.

Fr Beni has been a parish priest for seven years and Vicar General for 16 years.

Photo Caption: Vicar General and the new Lami Parish priest, Father Beni Kaloudau.
 

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Relief funds for earthquake victims in Solomon Islands
Source: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Press Release

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat has paid FJ$20,000.00 from the Regional Natural Disaster Relief Fund to the victims of a series of earthquakes which struck the Western Province of Solomon Islands on 4th January 2010.

“As the region is prone to natural disasters, Forum Leaders established the Regional Natural Disaster Relief Fund several years ago to assist member countries who experience natural disasters such as cyclones or earthquakes. This is to assist in the relief and rehabilitation of the disaster victims,” says Feleti Teo, Acting Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

Mr Teo expressed sympathy for those who were affected by the earthquakes in Solomon Islands.

The money has been paid to the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office in Honiara which has been coordinating relief supplies to the victims of the earthquakes.

A total of seven earthquakes measuring up to 7.2 on the Richter scale shook the islands of Rendova and Tetepari in the Solomon Islands Western Province in the early hours of 4th January damaging houses and food gardens. About 500 houses were destroyed and an estimated 2,000 people were left homeless. There were no casualties reported.
 

(Photo: International Institute for Sustainable Development)

WORLDWIDE: Regional response to protect the Pacific’s vulnerable
Source: United Nations Development Programme Press Release

The human face of the vulnerable in the Pacific could be a young girl in Tokelau straining her eyes to read her school books by the light of a kerosene lamp. Another human face of the vulnerable in the Pacific could be an elderly woman in Solomon Islands elated to have her own water tank to store clean drinking water. Yet another human face of the vulnerable could be a young boy from Kiribati who has been denied the appropriate medical treatment because there are no doctors at the hospital to attend to him.

Pacific Island ministers, development partners, non government organizations, women and youth groups and the private sector representatives kept these faces in mind as they deliberated for three days at the Pacific Conference on the Human Face of the Global Economic Crisis to identify short-term and long term actions to protect the vulnerable of the Pacific from the impact of the ongoing financial and economic crisis and potential future crises.

It is estimated that at least 6.44 million people in the Pacific are potentially vulnerable to the impacts of the global economic crisis. This comprises women, boys and girls under 15 years of age and people over 60 years of age, representing 67% percent of the population.

The conference was a follow up on the outcome of the 40th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting held in Cairns last year. The statement from the Pacific Conference on the Human Face of the Global Economic Crisis will be presented at the next Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting that will be held in Vanuatu in August this year.

“You cannot respond to a crisis until you know what is it that we need to respond to. This conference has led to a greater understanding of what it is happening and what needs to be done,” said Tuiloma Neroni Slade, the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in closing the conference.

The conclusion of the meeting calls for strong leadership and good governance, gender equality, and sustainable inclusive economic growth and climate change to be factored into development programmes.

Tuiloma Slade said the conclusions refer to a broad range of issues that concern the people of the Pacific.

“The decision of this conference is to face the future collectively and with determination. The future of the Pacific is a future of infinite promise and I believe that we can provide worthwhile life to Pacific people.”

Tuiloma Slade said, “Crises produce opportunity and the opportunity of this conference has been extraordinary in the diversity in the past three days and exceptional in the range, contributions and discussions we have heard.”

“Children, your concerns have been noted right from the start. The future belongs to you.”

The conference also recognized that knowledge sharing among different countries in the Pacific region and with other parts of the world should continue. It also noted the important role that development partners need to play in donor co-ordination.

Outcomes from the Labour Minister’s meeting organized by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Mauritius Strategy meeting organized by the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) that preceded this conference have been reflected in the conference statement.

The conference was hosted by the Government of Vanuatu with support from the United Nations, Asian Development Bank, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the University of the South Pacific. Participants include government ministers, parliamentarians, development partners, UN agencies, youth, women’s groups, private sector representatives and civil society organizations.

Photo Caption: Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade.