On July 22, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville’s (ARB) Women, Peace and Security Technical Working Group met to assess progress in achieving the objectives of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (NAP-WPS). The working group is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the $1.5 million, two-year Women Peace Building Initiative (WPBI) implemented in partnership with Counterpart International.
USAID has partnered with Arizona State University (ASU) under the Vocational Training and Education for Clean Energy (VOCTEC) program to build regional capacity of qualified technical trainers and technicians to install, operate, and troubleshoot off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the Pacific Islands.
USAID’s five-year Disaster Preparedness for Effective Response (PREPARE) program follows the Disaster Mitigation, Relief, and Reconstruction Program (DMRRP), in which the International Organization for Migration (IOM) established an operational and logistics presence in five locations in the two countries. This entailed pre-positioning humanitarian relief supplies and equipment and enhanced standby capacity for logistics, medical response and reconstruction of housing and public infrastructure. After facilitating USAID’s response to the 2013 drought in the Marshall Islands, the DMRRP closed in late 2014.
On April 28, 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama issued a Presidential Disaster Declaration after the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) was severely damaged by Typhoon Maysak, which passed through Chuuk and Yap States between March 29 and April 1, 2015. Under the terms of the Compact agreement between the United States and the Government of FSM, the Declaration mobilized U.S. federal funding for immediate emergency relief and reconstruction assistance.
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: In the wake of Cyclone Pam, the United States Government immediately issued disaster declarations from U.S. Embassy Port Moresby. The U.S. Government will continue to work closely with NGO partners and other nations to deliver relief assistance and to identify the most effective ways to immediately help those people most affected by the devastation wrought by Cyclone Pam.
Comment
Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement.