Pacific’s Biggest Humanitarian Response Forum Begins

(Nadi, Fiji, 22 October 2012): Over 100 humanitarian actors from the Pacific Island region have gathered for the 5th Annual Pacific Humanitarian Team Regional Workshop in Nadi, Fiji.

The Workshop, focused on promoting international, regional and national best practice will build on the lessons learned from a number of humanitarian responses over the last twelve months including the 2011 droughts in Tuvalu and Tokelau, Tropical Cyclone Wilma that hit Vanuatu in March 2012 and the January and February 2012 Fiji floods.

The Workshop will discuss how a possible weak El Niño phenomenon and tropical cyclones will affect different Pacific Island Countries in the coming months and what preparedness actions organizations can take to ensure effective, predictable and accountable humanitarian responses that are achieved through partnership.

Participants will work to develop concrete actions for how different sectors such as health, nutrition, shelter and education can respond to a range of different emergencies including earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, volcanic eruptions and tropical cyclones all of which have affected the Pacific Island region over the last five years.

The Pacific Humanitarian Team is a unique collaborative partnership between all major humanitarian actors in the Pacific Island region. Pacific Island Countries, UN Agencies, NGOs and donor organization work together to ensure a coordinated humanitarian response.

“The Pacific Humanitarian Team has responded to over 17 natural disasters in the last five years.” said Peter Muller, Regional Disaster Response Advisor – Pacific.

“We work in one of the world’s most susceptible regions to natural disaster, and we have already heard today that the collaborative nature of the Pacific Humanitarian Team has led to stronger responses in a number of countries.”

“This meeting gives us the opportunity to come together as a humanitarian community and build capacity to respond stronger than before.”

For further information, please contact:
Jo McIntosh, Public Information Officer, mcintoshj@unocha.org, Cell +679 8688 731
OCHA press releases are available at www.phtpacific.org