Protecting Pacific Island Children and Women During Economic and Food Crises examines some of the well known and potential impacts on Pacific Island children and women of the 2008 food price rise crisis and the current economic crisis. It also highlights some of the crucial lessons learnt from previous crises.

 

The report demonstrates that while there is still uncertainty about the scope and impact of the global economic and financial crisis in the Pacific region, it is clear that children and women in many Pacific Island countries are likely to be amongst those most severely affected, and that those already most vulnerable will face the greatest impact. The crisis compounds the recent shock from high food and fuel prices.

 

The Pacific region has a very short window of opportunity (due to lag time in the transmission of global impacts to the Pacific) to prepare by readjusting fiscal and monetary policy, creating an enabling environment in which alternative livelihood opportunities can be found, establishing early warning and response tracking systems, and developing immediate and longer-term social protection (safety net) policy responses. The report urges policy makers to use this time to formulate appropriate policies.  

For this report, household income and expenditure data from the 2005/06 Urban and Rural Household Income and Expenditure Surveys (HIES) has been used to estimate national and regional Food and Basic Needs Poverty Lines. From these the incidence levels, depth and severity of poverty in Solomon Islands and across these regions have been measured.

This report discusses the Polynesian Sub Regional MDG workshop held in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, in May 2008. It was the third and last in the series of sub regional workshops organized by the UNDP Pacific Centre. The workshop targeted government and non government participants from Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga and Cook Islands.

Workshop Report: Sub Regional Workshop on MDG-based Planning, Costing and Budgeting for Western Pacific Countries. 12-15 November 2007, Honiara, Solomon Islands. This workshop was held in early October 2006 for 1 week, organised by the UNDP Pacific Centre, in collaboration with UNESCAP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDESA and the UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo. The objective was to strengthen the capacities of government counterparts (Ministries of Finance, Ministries of Planning, Ministries of Women, National Statistics Offices, sector Ministries) and UN staff in the areas of MDG-based planning, pro-poor policies and budgeting, following a gender-sensitive approach.

A sub regional workshop on integrating the MDGs into planning, costing and budgeting processes was organised for the North Pacific countries of the Federated States of Micronesia - Chuuk State, Kosrae State, Pohnpei State and Yap State, Kiribati, the Republic of Marshall Islands and Palau from 26-29 June 2007 in Pohnpei, FSM. About 65 participants attended the workshop, including government representatives from Ministries or Departments of Planning, Budget or Finance, Health and Environment from Kiribati, Palau and RMI as well as the four states and federal administration of the Federated States of Micronesia. Representatives of CSO/NGO were also present.

This Report presents Papua NEw Guinea's first attempt at reporting on progress in achieving the MDGs. It tracks the country's performance since 1990, with regard to each of the MDGs and establishes national targets for 2015 which are consistent with those set in the country's Medium Term Development Strategy 2005-2010 (MTDS), health, education and other sectoral plans.