Ensuring effective emergency preparedness and relief response
The equatorial Pacific, particularly Kiribati and Tuvalu, experienced prolonged droughts in 2022 due to low rainfall. Some 94,000 people in Kiribati and 9,200 people in Tuvalu, were in need of humanitarian assistance due to the drought warning conditions, pushing both Kiribati and Tuvalu’s Governments to declare a State of Emergency and appealing to the public to conserve water. Officials also warned citizens against health risks associated with the drought situation. Lepani Penijamini Vunituraga, national UN Volunteer Humanitarian Affairs Officer with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) based in Suva, Fiji, stepped in to support the emergency response in both countries. The goal of OCHA is to assist and support preparedness and response efforts across the 14 Pacific countries and territories covered by OCHA’s Pacific office.
As a Humanitarian Affairs Officer, Lepani’s assignment focused on fostering coordination and liaison with partners in the field, with a special emphasis on the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Kiribati and Tuvalu. These countries fall under the purview of OCHA’s Office of the Pacific Islands.