2 June 2025
The Programme Governance Meeting gathering in Nadi – April 2025
By George Beck
Our first year implementing the Pacific Humanitarian Warehousing Program (PHWP) has been a journey of discovery, progress and adaptation in our contribution towards strengthening disaster preparedness and response across the Pacific. The PHWP operates under the Disaster and Community Resilience Programme (DCRP), which is the largest programme within the Geoscience, Energy and Maritime (GEM) Division of the Pacific Community (SPC). As the largest of SPC’s technical programmes under GEM, DCRP plays a key role in advancing innovative, science and traditional knowledge-based solutions to work with Pacific Island countries and territories to address some of their most pressing challenges.
I'm pleased to share our inaugural Annual Report, which details our milestones, challenges, and lessons learned throughout 2024. Here are some key highlights that reflect our Pacific-led approach to disaster resilience and demonstrate how we drive critical partnerships for action by using science and evidence to better inform decision-making.
Drawing on SPC's technical experience working with Pacific Island nations, our country missions have reinforced the unique challenges facing Pacific nations that demand tailored solutions as a one size fits all approach simply does not work. This understanding, built through SPC’s role as the mandated regional agency supporting Disaster Risk Management for the region, has been fundamental to PHWP's approach from day one.
In Micronesia, SPC has worked for years with National Disaster Management Offices (NDMO), gaining insight into the difficulties of reaching remote islands, where deliveries can take weeks. These challenges are especially acute in large oceanic nations, where limited maritime transport options complicate disaster response. In Tonga, local officials have stressed the importance of having storage facilities on outer islands to ensure a faster emergency response when access to the main island is cut off. A warehouse has been proposed for Vava’u, near the Emergency Operations Centre that SPC helped establish in 2018.
These geographic realities fundamentally influence disaster response arrangements in the Pacific, requiring innovative solutions that recognise the substantial economic impact. With the World Bank estimating that disasters cost Pacific Island countries an average of 2-7% of GDP annually, investing in preparedness through prepositioned supplies becomes even more critical. By having humanitarian supplies already in place across the region's dispersed islands, we can dramatically reduce response times and costs when disasters strike. This strategic approach delivers significant long-term cost savings, with every $1 spent in preparing communities and countries for disaster impact saving up to $15 in response, making PHWP's warehouse network a vital investment in Pacific resilience.
Concrete Progress: Breaking Ground in Kiribati
One of our significant achievements this year (November 2024) was breaking ground on the Kiribati Humanitarian Warehouse, which is the first facility built under the programme. The event was officiated by Kiribati’s President. This 60-pallet facility directly responds to needs identified during Kiribati's 2022 drought emergency, when limited prepositioned supplies highlighted critical gaps in response capabilities. At the ceremony, President Taneti Maamau emphasised that “Kiribati was laying the foundation for the future of their people, enhancing their ability to respond to disasters more efficiently and effectively than ever before.” He said the facility would become “a vital hub stocked with essential supplies, ready to be mobilised during disasters, emergencies, and other unforeseen crises.”
Community involvement was critical from the beginning. A local consultant provided community awareness and engagement materials on the warehouse and the purpose of the constructions in I-Kiribati language and established a complaints process to address any concerns throughout construction. This approach ensures the facility will genuinely serve community needs when completed in June 2025, exemplifying our commitment to evidence-based action and partnerships for resilience.
Pacific Knowledge Systems at the Heart of Our Work
SPC's work in the Pacific has shown that traditional knowledge systems and scientific approaches must work together for effective disaster response. Local leadership structures and traditional authorities play important roles during emergencies often having detailed knowledge of vulnerable community members and best ways to distribute aid.
In the Federated States of Micronesia, for example, our experience showed that fishing kits have cultural importance and are essential supplies for early recovery. In Samoa stakeholders shared perspectives on including cultural considerations in warehouse operations while making sure people with disabilities can access services.
These insights, drawn from working closely with NDMOs and NDRMOs across the region, have shaped how we carried out our work over the past year.
Unified, Integrated Approach
We initially planned to develop separate strategies for three thematic priorities on Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI); localisation; and green humanitarian action. Based on feedback from Pacific partners, we've shifted to a more unified approach that recognises how these priorities naturally connect. This reflects our broader understanding that disaster risk management, climate change adaptation, natural resource management and water and sanitation are closely linked and require integrated solutions.
Our experience has shown that engagement must be carefully paced, giving countries time to their own priorities before deepening work with the programme.
Pacific-Led Solutions for 2025
As we move through 2025, we'll apply this knowledge to develop Country Implementation Plans that reflect each nation's unique context. We've secured the support of development partners including Australia, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Our goal remains to strengthen disaster preparedness and response across the Pacific by supporting locally led efforts that reflect regional knowledge and respond to specific national needs.
This aligns with our broader mission through the DCRP to support Pacific countries and territories in achieving sustainable development through evidence-based action and partnerships for resilience, operationalising the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP) through coordinated technical support.
None of these achievements would have been possible without the unwavering support and valuable contributions of participating countries, development partners, and humanitarian organisations, whose commitment to Pacific-led disaster resilience has been fundamental to our progress this year.
For a comprehensive overview of our activities, partnerships, governance achievements, and detailed country engagement updates, download our complete 2024 Annual Report here.
We welcome your feedback and look forward to continuing this important work with our Pacific partners in 2025.
