Sydney, Australia, Aug 9 (EFE).– Fourteen Pacific island countries and East Timor, among the world’s most vulnerable nations to natural disasters due to the climate crisis, will establish warehouses to store humanitarian supplies for disaster response.
The initiative, called the Pacific Humanitarian Warehousing Program, is funded by Australia and New Zealand, the region’s largest countries, which play key roles in responding to disasters in the area.
Australia and New Zealand have tly pledged $28.1 million for the program, according to a t statement from Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
“As we know all too well, the Pacific is exposed to a wide range of natural hazards and other risks – including cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, volcanoes and disease. These disasters can lead to immense humanitarian need,” the New Zealand minister said.
Wong described the program as an “excellent Pacific led initiative.”
“Australia and New Zealand are proud to back it to help ensure there is easily accessible and supplies on the ground for communities when disaster strikes,” she said. “This is a practical demonstration of how we are working together to address our shared challenges.”
The Pacific islands and East Timor, located in Southeast Asia, are particularly vulnerable to climate-related disasters and lie within the Pacific Ring of Fire, which s for about 90 percent of the world’s seismic and volcanic activity.
The program aims to stockpile humanitarian aid for distribution within the first 48 hours of a disaster, serving as a critical bridge until international aid arrives.
This initiative is led by Pacific Island nations, a region with challenging geography and severe connectivity issues that hinder rapid disaster response.
The announcement by Australia and New Zealand coincides with the Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers’ meeting in Suva, Fiji. The forum has long advocated for increased international aid to address the climate crisis.
The Pacific has gained strategic importance for Australia and New Zealand after forum member Solomon Islands signed a security agreement with China in 2022, negotiated with little transparency, intensifying the competition between Beijing and Washington in this previously overlooked region. EFE
wat-ssk
