UN-backed experts say more must be done to help people with disabilities in war-battered Gaza (World)

Photo: AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi, File FILE - Wasem Attiya pushes his father, Mohamed, 54, in a wheelchair as they head to Shifa hospital in Gaza City for a dialysis session, Monday, April 14, 2025. A team of human rights experts has faulted the...

EU unveils multimillion-dollar Pacific aid package, including $70m to French territories

EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela addressing the first EU-Pacific Business Forum in Fiji on Friday 5 September 2025. Photo: Delegation of the European Union to the Pacific French Pacific Overseas Countries and Territories...

New FAO report offers guidance and data on integrating nutrition goals into food trade policies

Rome – International trade of food and agricultural products has grown robustly in recent decades and makes very significant contributions to food and nutrient diversity, availability and affordability around the world, a new report from the Food...

Child mortality in Kiribati:A wake-up call for urgent action

Kiribati faces one of the highest child mortality rates in the region, with under-five mortality rates (U5MR) remaining stubbornly high for more than a decade. According to Unicef’s 2016 State of the World’s Children report, Kiribati recorded 56...

Climate adaptation costs exceed Paris pledge- Kiribati President Maamau told UN General Assembly

Kiribati President Taneti Maamau has told the United Nations General Assembly, the island nation is experiencing intensifying severe drought and coastal inundation affecting homes, public infrastructure, food and water security due to climate...

At COP29, Piukala calls for climate-health actions and funding for Asia Pacific

“Investing in climate-resilient health facilities is not a luxury. It is a lifeline,” Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala warned in Baku, Azerbaijan. “We urgently need accessible and equitable climate-health financing for the Pacific. Current funding is simply...

Australia supporting action on climate change and health in the Pacific and Southeast Asia

The Albanese Government is making a multimillion-dollar investment and partnering with countries in the Pacific region to address the health impacts of climate change. With more frequent and extreme climate events, climate change presents a...

Rising seas threaten island hospitals

The Pacific Islands are among the most vulnerable regions to climate change and the need for climate-resilient health systems has taken center stage at the 29th UN Climate Conference. Pacific countries like Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall...

Supporting action on climate change and health in the Pacific and South East Asia

Department of Health The Albanese Government is making a multimillion-dollar investment and partnering with countries in the Pacific region to address the health impacts of climate change. With more frequent and extreme climate events, climate...

Pacific Girl and UNICEF collaborate to empower adolescent girls and boys across the Pacific

The Pacific Girl programme, part of the Human Rights and Social Development Youth Desk at the Pacific Community (SPC), in partnership with UNICEF, is leading a transformative approach to gender equality by engaging both adolescent girls and boys...

Fiji, Marshall Islands strengthen bilateral ties

AS Pacific Islands Forum presidents and prime ministers hold their annual leaders retreat this Thursday, they’ll be briefed on regional engagement with donors and partners by a group of regional veterans – the High-Level Political Talanoa....

Urgent action needed to reduce Kiribati’s mortality rates: Nunn

Papua New Guinea’s public health is at an “all-time low” and requires immediate and serious attention, according to a senior health administrator. Health Department deputy secretary Dr Ken Wai, presenting the national public health status to the...

New Partnership To Improve Child Health In Asia-Pacific

Murdoch Children's Research Institute Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) will partner with 12 countries in the Pacific and Southeast Asia under a $10 million initiative to improve child and adolescent health across the region. The...

Australia sends help for dengue

An Australian medical team and dengue test kits are part of the assistance from the Albanese government to Samoa and the Pacific to respond to the dengue outbreak. Australia is providing more than AU$1 million in assistance to respond to current...

At COP29, WHO calls for climate-health actions and funding for Asia…

Last week, over 40 000 delegates – including world leaders, United Nations (UN) officials, climate experts, journalists, representatives from non-governmental organisations and youth advocates – have gathered at the 29th Conference of the Parties...

Five ways the global health community can respond to a Trump Administration

Introduction by Croakey: President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of multi-billionaire Elon Musk to slash United States government spending and regulation is a harbinger of what lies ahead, especially given the role of Musk’s company X in...

AUD$4.9 million to fortify Pacific region against health impacts of climate change

Researchers at the University of Melbourne and the Pacific Climate Change Centre have received nearly AUD$4.9 million (US$3.26 million) in funding from Wellcome to strengthen Pacific populations’ resilience to the health impacts of a changing...

Omicron confirmed in Kiribati, 155 more cases reported

Kiribati Ministry of Health and Medical Services has confirmed the Omicron variant is now spreading in the community after the results were confirmed by the Melbourne-based MDU PHL Doherty Institute. A statement from the ministry said 39 samples...

'Extremely stark' under-5 mortality in Kiribati sparks concern

Photo: Supplied/ NZ Human Rights Commission A development specialist says there is an urgent need for action to reduce mortality rates for children under five in Kiribati. In 2015, the country recorded 56 deaths per 1000 live births, more than...

'Lack of transparency': Kiribati opposition leader wary of govt's dealings with China

There is nothing wrong with Kiribati being friends with China, incumbent opposition leader Tessie Lambourne says, but it's the way the government is handling this relationship that concerns her. Lambourne's comments follow the re-election of the...