NEWSPAGE 30 May
2011

(Photo: Pip Laufiso)

NEW ZEALAND: Dunedin reggae band win top prize at Pacific Music Awards

(Photo: Australian High Commission)

SAMOA: Australian frigate visits Apia en route to Hawaii
Source: Australian High Commission Press Release

HMAS Perth arrived in Apia on Saturday (April 28, 2011) as part of a two month Pacific voyage. Later in this deployment, Perth will conduct testing for various missile system capabilities on the US Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility off the coast of Hawaii.

The ship will remain in Apia until Monday morning, when it departs for Hawaii. While the Perth is in Apia, the HMAS Sydney will be in Pago Pago enroute to Hawaii.

Perth is the eighth and final Anzac Class frigate to be built by Tenix for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Perth is the first of the Anzac Class ships to undergo the Anti-Ship Missile Defence Upgrade; it is set to complete its trials in July 2011.

The ship can embark a multi-role Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter to enhance anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare and Search and Rescue capabilities. Embarkation of a helicopter also provides the ship with the capability to deliver air-launched torpedoes.

“Although there has been a lot of hard work to get us through the majority of our trial period, we know there is more to come with the system being further assessed off Hawaii, and then we get to put the whole system into practice during Talisman Sabre,” HMAS Perth Captain Mal Wise said.

Perth was farewelled from Fleet Base West on 27 April 2011 by a crowd of family and friends.

“Our families are sad to see us leave but they can tell that we are excited to be involved in this great new capability for (the Royal Australian) Navy,” Captain Wise said.

While in Apia, a group of sailors will donate their time and labour to build furniture and repaint parts of the Fiamalamalama school for the intellectually handicapped.
 

AMERICAN SAMOA: Department of Health awarded $69,000
Source: Office of Congressman Faleomavaega Press Release

Congressman Faleomavaega has announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has awarded $69,044.00 to the American Samoa Department of Health (ASDOH) through a Chronic Disease Control Cooperative Agreement grant for Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Systems (BRFSS).

The grant was awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Public Health Surveillance Program Office (PHSPO). It is authorized through Public Law 95-626 which was introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy in 1978. The law was passed by Congress and amended the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend the programs of financial assistance for the delivery of health services and the provision of preventive health services.

The BRFSS program will help State Health Departments monitor the prevalence of major behavioral risks associated with premature morbidity and mortality in adults to improve the planning, implementation, and evaluation of disease prevention and health promotion programs. Through the grant program, the PHSPO will manage surveillance systems with cross-CDC utility and develop new ideas, methods, tools, information sources, analysis, and dissemination.

More specifically, the funding will assist the American Samoa Department of Health to maintain and expand 1) specific surveillance using telephone and multimode survey methodology of the behaviors of the general population that contribute to the occurrence of prevention of chronic diseases and injuries, and 2) the collection, analysis, and dissemination of BRFSS data to State categorical programs for their use in assessing trends, directing program planning, evaluating programs, establishing program priorities, developing policy, and targeting relevant population groups, according to the DHHS grant announcement.

This year, the PHSPO selected 53 recipients for this grant and awarded an overall funding amount of $45 million. The grant budget period will extend until March 2012 and the project period will continue through March 2014.

“I would like to congratulate the American Samoa Department of Health for having successfully secured this Chronic Disease Control Cooperative Agreement grant made available this year through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” Congressman Faleomavaega stated.

“This program was originally designed to improve the delivery of health services and especially build capacity and data collection for preventative efforts. I am pleased to know that these funds will support these efforts in American Samoa,” Faleomavaega added.

“Lastly, I commend Ms. Elizabeth Ponausuia, recently nominated ASDOH Director and current Deputy Director, and her staff for pursuing these grants to improve health outcomes in American Samoa,” Congressman Faleomavaega concluded.
 

(Photo: Fiji Broadcasting Corporation)

FIJI: Fiji beat Samoa in sevens plate final
Source: Radio New Zealand International

Fiji have ended a fracticious rugby sevens season with some silverware, after beating Samoa 26-14 in the plate final at Edinburgh.

It was their second win over Samoa in two days after earlier beating their rivals in pool play, where they also slipped up against Scotland.

Head coach Joe Savou, who replaced Iliesa Tanivula two months ago, says they will take heart from their recent performances.

“Unfortunately that we lost to Australia in the quarter final but we managed to come back and I think we will work on that and will focus on the next series.”

South Africa won their second straight tournament, after holding off Australia 36-35 in a high scoring cup final.

That ensured they finish the season in third place, ahead of Samoa, with Fiji fifth.

Meanwhile two New Zealanders, Tomasi Cama and Tim Mikkelson, were shortlisted alongside South Africa’s Cecil Afrika for the IRB’s sevens player of the year award.

Photo Caption: Fiji Sevens Head Coach, Joe Savou.
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

TUVALU: More resources needed to address culture sector, says former Tuvalu PM
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community

Former Prime Minister of Tuvalu Bikenibeu Paeniu has called for a more coordinated approach to address the culture sector at the national and regional level.

Mr Paeniu, Tuvalu’s national consultant for culture mapping, planning and policy (CMPP), was among other national consultants who gave presentations on their countries’ progress in the CMPP process at a sub-regional workshop held at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in Suva, Fiji Islands 23-24 May 2011.

He noted that the meeting made clear ‘the value of culture and its importance.’

‘And of course, we need resources for capacity building and the passage of national culture policies,’ he continued.

Six countries (Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) are currently working on developing cultural policies under the European Union-funded Structuring the Cultural Sector for Improved Human Development project, implemented by SPC’s Human Development Programme.

The two-day workshop provided a chance for national consultants and culture focal points to review the CMPP process in each of the six countries.

It also gave the participants, including representatives from Fiji Islands, the opportunity to exchange best practices and strategies to overcome challenges, and to discuss implementation plans for their cultural policies. The national consultant for Palau, Ann Singeo, noted that the countries still had time to polish their culture policies, and that participants would be able to bring home some of the ideas that had been put on the table at the workshop and present them to their colleagues to be adopted or adapted to the local context.

The workshop was facilitated by Pacific culture specialist Dr Katerina Teaiwa with the support of Frank Hegerty (SPC/Secretariat of the Pacific Board for Educational Assessment), a specialist in policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. It was designed to provide countries with skills and knowledge on how to effectively develop and implement cultural policy, an area of key importance for the culturally rich and diverse Pacific region.

Photo Caption: Culture Mapping, Planning and Policy (CMPP) workshop participants.

(Photo: Pacific Islands Applied GeoScience Commission)

WORLDWIDE: Pacific Islanders make their case in Geneva
Source: Pacific Islands Applied GeoScience Commission Press Release

Pacific Island delegates told participants attending the Third Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction that their countries and territories remain highly disaster prone and that the region is threatened by a variety of natural hazards of geological and meteorological origin, according to Dr. Russell Howorth, Director SOPAC, a division of SPC.

Dr. Howorth was part of the Pacific delegation included in the 2,700 representatives from 168 governments who attended the conference convened by the UN International Secretariat for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) in Geneva 9-13 May.

UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon, who was the keynote speaker, noted that the aim of the conference was to reduce disaster risk through technology, knowledge and economic tools, and called for accelerating efforts in building resilience and a coalition of action for disaster risk reduction.

“The Pacific Islanders,” Dr, Howorth said, “highlighted the dangers that confront the region including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, cyclones, river and coastal flooding (including permanent coastal inundation due to sea level rise), landslides, and droughts.
“Pacific delegates recognized that in the past decade social problems, including health and pollution hazards, and civil unrest have also increased as a result of population increase, urban drift, uneven wealth distribution and political pressures.

“Tropical cyclones and other extreme events (floods, droughts, extreme temperatures) remain the most frequent cause of disasters in the region, but geological hazards and other anthropogenic hazards (fire, chemical spills or infrastructure collapse) have the potential to cause greater losses, as recent tsunamis and inter-island ferry disasters have demonstrated
“Furthermore, delegates highlighted that natural hazards by themselves do not cause disasters. It is the combination of an exposed, vulnerable and ill-prepared population with a hazard event that results in a disaster.”

Dr Howorth said that a changing global climate is increasing disaster risks in two ways.
“First, climate change will likely increase the frequency and/or severity of weather and climate hazards. Second, climate change through slow onset processes will simultaneously increase communities’ vulnerability to natural hazards due to the combined effects of ecosystem degradation, reduced availability of water for ecosystems and agriculture, and changes in peoples’ livelihoods,” he said.

The Pacific delegates acknowledged that development within such an environment continues to be an on going challenge, and expressed their gratitude to regional and global development partners and donors for their support.

“It is my view that delegates presented an excellent case, and demonstrated quite clearly that the Pacific islands were not in “catch up mode” with the global agenda, but rather were in “keep up mode”. This is a credit to the efforts of generally small island administrations and supporting stakeholders,” said Dr. Howorth.

Dr. Howorth said that attention in the region would now shift to Auckland where the Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction will be hosted by New Zealand, during the first week of August.

“Over 100 delegates from over the region together with global partners are expected to review progress, and in particular consider how the outcomes from the Geneva Global Platform can be turned into benefits for our region.”

As part of the conference i, Dr. Howorth represented the Pacific at the Heads of Intergovernmental Organisations Meeting convened during the Global Platform.

“At that meeting,” he said, “delegates took note of the recent extreme and catastrophic events and the need for more and urgent attention for disaster risk reduction considerations to be incorporated into the development planning process.”

He said that they also recognized the increasing vulnerability and need to build resilience of small island developing states and least developed countries.
 
Several of the outcomes of that meeting are particularly relevant to the Pacific region, he said.
He said that it was suggested that greater efforts be made to use information management and communications technologies to deepen national and regional cooperation, the sharing of knowledge, managing and identifying risks that cross island country boundaries (like cyclones), and to set common standards and indicators in support of measuring progress with mainstreaming disaster risk reduction.

Photo Caption: Shown attending the Pacific booth during the Global Platform conference are (L-R) Manasa Vaniqi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Provincial Development, Fiji; Samantha Cook, SOPAC/SPC; Litea Biukoto, SOPAC/SPC; Charles Carlson, Emergency Management, Cook Islands.