NEWSPAGE 27 August
2010

(Photo: Auckland City Council)

(Photo: Australia-Pacific Technical College)

SAMOA: Student reps provide forum in Samoa
Source: Australia-Pacific Technical College

"The weekly meetings of the Student Representative groups, in operation on the APTC Samoa campus for more than a year, are an excellent forum for student suggestions, and communication between the College Management and the student body, said Ms Francis Howes, Country Coordinator for the College's School of Automotive, Construction and Electrical, and Manufacturing (ACEM) in Samoa.

Francis said she has great respect for the Student Reps who voluntarily commit to this role, when during the first week of arrival they are elected by their fellow students. She explained that the students are encouraged to elect representatives from both local and international students who are mature, respected, and who provide cross-cultural and cross gender representation.

"These meetings with the Student Reps and Student Coordinator Muta Isara are a joy," said Francis. " The Student Reps have a sense of pride and responsibility, and are reliable in attendance and follow-up. The Reps keep minutes on all meetings and report on outcomes. They often bring lateral thinking to solving any problems."

Francis explained that the Student Reps were also called upon to speak at events or to act as guides to visiting dignitaries. "The short time-frame for ACEM study blocks means there is a continual turnover of Student Representatives, but the system works well."

Student Representative, for Certificate III Plumbing, Yarawi Duri from Papua New Guinea commented, "Being a student representative is an honour for me to represent my class which is mostly Fijian, with only two of us from PNG. It is not just a challenge for me to represent students from the two Melanesian countries with different languages and cultural backgrounds, but it has taught me a lot of things in life in regards to understanding cultures and individual behaviour of each student, raising student issues with the management, taking feedback from management to students, and by doing so I also earn a respect back from the student body, and I acknowledge that. "

Francis concluded by saying she presents each Student Representative with a letter of thanks at their group farewell. "The letter is designed to be a part of the Student Reps' CVs, and I also send a copy to their employers, so there is public recognition of all the work they do."

Photo Caption: The Student Representatives at the APTC Samoa campus: front, from left,
Muta Isara (Student Coordinator ACEM); Yowari Duri (PNG Plumbing); Gary Roland
(Nauru - Metal Fabrication) and Liku Paea (Tonga - Metal Fabrication).
Back, from left, Gabrieli Makutu (Fiji - Refrigeration & Air Conditioning); Sekove
Bureicegu (Fiji - Metal Fabrication);Anjeesh Chandra (Fiji - Refrigeration & Air Conditioning)
and Nemani Raibasa (Fiji- Metal Fabrication).
Absent: Leia Faiumu (Samoa - Fitting & Machining).
 

(Photos: Australian Defence Force)

AUSTRALIA: Australian first for Pacific Partnership mission
Source: Australian Defence Force

In a first for the Australian Defence Force, Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Tobruk will become the command ship for the US-led humanitarian assistance mission Pacific Partnership 2010 (PP10)

The ship is the command platform for the final leg of the six-country PP10 mission in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and will host personnel from the United States Navy, partner nations and non-government organisations onboard.

From 3 September 2010, the multi-national PP10 team will work in the area of Rabaul, PNG, with members of the PNG Defence Force, non-government organisations, and the ship’s company of supporting ship USS Crommelin, to conduct medical, dental, engineering and community service projects.

The command of PP10 from an Australian ship is an exciting time for both Navies said PP10 Mission Commander United States Navy Captain Lisa Franchetti.

“Our two Navies have a close-working relationship participating in various operations and Defence exercises together but this is the first time we will command Pacific Partnership from a non-US Navy ship. The adaptability and professionalism of the ship’s company has made the transition seamless and I am anticipating a positive Command experience aboard Tobruk,” said Captain Franchetti.

Commanding Officer of Tobruk, Commander Paul Scott, said they will depart Darwin tomorrow having conducted personnel exchange and receiving stores for the conduct of the week-long humanitarian assistance effort.
“The transfer of personnel and onload of cargo was conducted safely and professionally. The ship’s company have been preparing for our international guests and are looking forward to enhancing their professional relationships,” Commander Scott said.

Having completed Operation Samoa Assist late last year, the ship’s company will be able to build upon their experience in humanitarian assistance efforts.

“Last year, under a different Commanding Officer, Tobruk delivered more than 500 tonnes of aid to Samoa and Tonga following the tsunami in the region. Unfortunately our region suffers natural disasters and as a consequence our Navy needs to be prepared to respond when the government directs us to,” said Commander Scott.

Approximately 50 ADF personnel have been deployed on USNS Mercy in Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and East Timor. HMA Ships Labuan and Tarakan have been providing ship to shore logistical support in Indonesia and East Timor and will continue to do so in PNG.

Pacific Partnership, as it has been known since 2007, has been sponsored annually by the Commander US Pacific Fleet since the devastating effects of the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. USNS Mercy was on-scene in early 2005 in response to the tsunami and returned to Southeast Asia in 2006.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - A United States Navy Night Hawk conducts a vertical replenishment with HMAS Tobruk in Dili Harbour as part of Pacific Partnership 2010.

Photo 2 - A group of boatswain's mates from HMAS Tobruk wait on the lowered stern door for transfer of personnel from United States Naval Ship Mercy during Pacific Partnership 2010.
 

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: PNG takes steps to eradicate torture in prisons
Source: United Nations Human Rights Press Release

Papua New Guinea has re-committed its efforts to eradicate the practice of torture and ill treatment in prisons.

In a speech delivered last night, Mr Stephen Pokanis, Acting Deputy Commissioner, Correctional Services, stated:

“We acknowledge and accept that there is ill treatment and torture in prisons. We strongly believe that with training and awareness we can learn to run prisons better using innovation and within the resources we already have.”

Mr Pokanis made the comments at a reception during a three-day workshop on prison management and human rights with prison officials organised jointly by the Papua New Guinea Correctional Services and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The workshop follows a Pacific-wide meeting held in November last year where Pacific Island Countries committed to the eradication of torture and ill-treatment and the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to Papua New Guinea in May this year.

The workshop focuses on practical ways prison officials can better implement their national laws that provide for a system of prison management where human rights are respected as well as provide expert information about current international laws, standards and practice for the prevention of torture.

Mr David McLachlan-Karr, Resident Coordinator, United Nations Country Team in Papua New Guinea said.

“Experience from around the world and the Pacific region demonstrates that prisons can function as places that rehabilitate ex-offenders, improving safety and security for community, prison administrators and detainees.

I am encouraged by the commitment of Correctional Services to eradicate torture in prisons and believe that Papua New Guinea has an important role to play in the region in developing best practice in the respect for human rights in prisons.”

Members of civil society, the diplomatic community and international donors based in Port Moresby also attended the reception.
 

(Photos: United Nations Development Programme)

VANUATU: Communities learn to prepare for disasters
Source: United Nations Development Programme Press Release

A workshop on Disaster Risk Management was recently held in the Lungei Tagaro Area Council in East Ambae, Vanuatu.

“The discussions in this workshop have helped us and the community leaders to develop new ideas, so we can prepare better for the natural disasters that may occur in our area,” Mr. Steward Natu, Administrator of the Area Council, said.

The workshop was held as part of finalizing a Disaster Risk Management Plan for the Penama Province. This plan will include issues such as to evacuate the population, how to secure food and water, how to build strong houses, how to request potential development assistance and also how to take care of the weakest members of the province.

It was the final of ten workshops held in all area councils of the province, organized by the Government of Vanuatu in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Building Resilient Communities towards Effective Governance project.

“The people of this province are already doing disaster risk management in their traditional way of living. Before a cyclone season they harvest food, they make sure they have extra drinking water and they try to protect their houses. We are working to find ways for them to prepare even better,” Mr. Sunil Gurung, United Nations Volunteer and Disaster Risk Management specialist in the project, said.

The workshops have been held to ensure that the community voices will be heard and included in the plan.

“We need a working guide, so everybody knows what to do when a disaster strikes. At this stage there is no plan, so it is hard to transfer the structure and the knowledge to younger generations,” Mr. Keith Andrew Mala, a participant, said.

The Penama Provincial Disaster Risk Management Plan will be finalized by the end of this year. UNDP are now working with the Government of Vanuatu to replicate this plan to the five other provinces in Vanuatu.

“Once this plan is finalized it will set the foundation for similar work in the remaining provinces. In this way each province will have a disaster risk management plan given the vulnerability of the country to natural hazards,” Mr. Navin Bhan, UNDP Governance Associate, said.
 

WORLDWIDE: Breaking the silence - controlling STIs in the Pacific
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community Press Release

For all the beauty and extraordinary richness of the Pacific, the region also holds some sad records. Recent surveys on HIV and other STIs (sexually transmitted infections) in the region show that on average, one in four sexually active young people in the Pacific have an STI, with a chlamydia prevalence in youth of up to 40% - among the highest rates in the world*.

In response to these disturbing findings, the Pacific Regional STI Working Group was established to review the situation and provide evidence-based recommendations to countries to help reduce the prevalence of STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis. The Working Group comprises technical specialists from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Oceania Society for Sexual Health and HIV Medicine (OSSHHM).

Often STIs do not present any symptoms, but if left untreated may lead to miscarriage and infertility in women, as well as eye and lung infections in newborns. The presence of STIs has also been shown to favour the transmission of HIV for both men and women.

Current STI testing and treatment methods in most Pacific Island countries are not effective in reducing the prevalence of STIs such as chlamydia. Therefore the STI Working Group has released a policy guideline for health officials called 'Breaking the silence: Responding to the STI epidemic in the Pacific', which outlines a comprehensive package of interventions for enhancing STI control.

"The STI Working Group is recommending simple yet effective measures that can be implemented immediately to drastically reduce STI prevalence in the population and the impact on infants," says Dr Jimmie Rodgers, SPC Director-General.

Some countries are adopting a recommendation that all antenatal women and their partners should be treated for chlamydia without being tested first. This 'epidemiological treatment'-or presumptive treatment-of chlamydia is based on the established epidemiological pattern among antenatal women. Only a single dose of antibiotics is required.

Epidemiological treatment does not lessen the importance of routine testing, counselling or management of other STIs in antenatal women. Its advantage is, however, that it will allow laboratories in those countries to expand testing for chlamydia and other STIs to other 'at risk' population groups because there will be less demand to process tests for antenatal women. Most laboratories have limited resources and the new treatment strategy should help them make more efficient use of their facilities.

To be effective, and to have long-term benefits, epidemiological treatment will need to be implemented in combination with increased awareness and behaviour change interventions, including the use of condoms.

Other interventions recommended in the paper include ensuring up-to-date knowledge and capacity for management of STIs at all levels of the health care system. This requires training of primary health care providers in diagnosing STI symptoms and giving them the authority to provide treatment for patients and their sex partner(s).

"The main objectives of the interventions are to reduce the prevalence of chlamydia by 50% by 2013, eliminate mother-to-child transmission of chlamydia, prevent other infections in newborns whose parents have an STI, and reduce the long-term consequences of STIs," says Dr Rodgers.