The Pacific

Through the WFP-led Pacific Logistics Cluster, WFP supports governments and regional partners in the Pacific to prepare for emergencies and respond effectively by offering technical and coordination support in logistics and supply chain. WFP also supports countries and territories in understanding their logistics capacity needs, and identifies and helps them to fill gaps through joint assessments of needs. This includes guidance on the strategic pre-positioning of assets and supplies. In addition, WFP is partnering with the University of the South Pacific to implement a micro-accreditation programme for humanitarian supply chain and logistics, aiming to enhance the skills and knowledge of emergency responders.

WFP leads the Pacific Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, supporting Pacific governments and regional partners in enhancing emergency preparedness and their response capacity through technical assistance, pre-positioning of assets, and coordination in emergency telecommunications. WFP conducts capacity assessments in information and communication technologies across the region, for national and regional stakeholders. Based on these assessments, WFP also provides customized IT and telecommunications training for emergency responders in the Pacific.

Through its mobile Vulnerability analysis and Mapping (mVAM) tool, WFP supports governments and partners to access reliable and real-time food security and nutrition data, enabling governments to better collect, analyse and visualize data – with a focus on vulnerable groups. WFP’s ultimate goal is to enable Pacific governments to independently and sustainably integrate food security and nutrition monitoring into their national data-collection systems.

By partnering with the private sector, WFP aims to provide market-based disaster risk financing solutions to help governments cover disaster losses, thereby enabling faster, more cost-effective and predictable responses to climate and disaster shocks. In addition, WFP supports governments in linking disaster risk financing with shock-responsive social protection systems, through people-centred approaches.

WFP is collaborating with the Government of Fiji to implement an anticipatory action pilot project designed to support the delivery of cash assistance to vulnerable populations before tropical cyclones. Building on the successes of this pilot, WFP aims to expand and adapt anticipatory action approaches across the Pacific, exploring opportunities for scale-up in other island countries to strengthen regional preparedness and resilience against climate hazards.

WFP provides services upon request by government partners, in response to sudden-onset shocks. During COVID-19, when the Pacific region was largely locked down, WFP worked with the Pacific Islands Forum and other partners to run the Pacific Humanitarian Air Service – a lifeline in transporting humanitarian personnel and essential medical cargo. WFP also provided critical supply chain, emergency telecommunications and other services to the Pacific during Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tonga, and Vanuatu Tropical cyclones Judy, Kevin and Lola in 2023.