Link: Humanitarian Action Plan for the Santa Cruz Earthquake and Tsunami Response 2013

Thirty days after a remote region of Solomon Islands was hit by an earthquake and tsunami, permanent housing and sanitation still pose a challenge.

The National Disaster Management Office in Honiara says over USD $25 million have been raised by government, international donors and local communities.

The magnitude 8.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck on February 6 claimed 10 lives and displaced over 4500 people.

Chairman of the National Disaster Council, Frank Wickham, told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific from Honiara that affected communities in Temotu province have been resilient.

"The communities have resorted to their food gardens, most of which are above the area of the tsunami and were not directly affected," he said.

"We also have food supplies there, to keep them going, to supplement their own local food supplies."

Mr Wickham said the water supply to the main township had been restored, and water was being carted to camps that were established for people who lost their homes.

The area is currently experiencing high rainfall, and Mr Wickham said the Council was trying to increase water catchment.

"Very high rainfall is making life a bit more difficult and uncomfortable for the communities in camps," he said.

"We're trying now to move into the phase we've just re-established a humanitarian action plan for the next 60 days with the development partners and the government ministries and NGOs."

Mr Wickham said the Ministry of Health together with the Solomon Islands Red Cross and other partners were monitoring health and sanitation closely.

But he said the wider community response in the Solomon Islands had been "overwhelming" since the disaster.

"There are a range of support initiatives being carried here in the capital Honiara, and also in other parts of the country, to support the Temotu people, on Santa Cruz and it's been quite overwhelming."

Audio: Frank Wickham speaks to Asia Pacific (ABC News)

Posted Sun, 2013-03-24 17:31 by George Herming

Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo has donated $500,000 on behalf of the National Coalition for Rural Advancement Government towards the Temotu Tsunami telethon fundraising effort co-hosted by the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation and the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce on Saturday.

Launching the drive at SIBC's Recreational Center, Prime Minister Lilo said in the long term the country's focus is on the reconstruction of health and education infrastructure, coastal roads and support towards shelter recovery plans for the affected communities.

He recalled that the disaster has claimed the lives of 9 people, leaving 13 injured and thousand others homeless.

Mr Lilo said Temotu province is a strategic location for the economic and social development aspirations of the sovereign state of Solomon Islands.

He urges business houses, state actors, communities and individuals to make that contribution to support victims of the recent earthquake and Tsunami in Temotu Province

Meanwhile, the telethon which was closed at 5pm on Saturday has raised more than $25,000 in cash and more than $508,000 in pledge, totaling to $533,767.

On 6 February 2013, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake set off a small but powerful tsunami that sent 1.5-metre waves roaring inland on Santa Cruz Island, a remote area in the Solomon Islands archipelago of the Pacific. Nearly 40 per cent of the houses on the island were either damaged or destroyed and an estimated 60 per cent of the population was affected. OCHA’s Rashmi Rita travelled from Fiji to the Solomon Islands to support the emergency response on one of the first flights that was able to land.

Read the full story

Officials in Solomon Islands say tsunami victims are still in need of food, water and adequate shelter, more than a month after the disaster struck.

Officials in Solomon Islands say tsunami victims are still in need of food, water and adequate shelter, more than a month after the disaster struck.

A magnitude 8.0 earthquake hit the Santa Cruz area on February 6, triggering a tsunami that killed nine people.

Hundreds of houses were destroyed and about 3,500 people left homeless.

The Premier of Temotu Province, Charles Brown, has told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat saltwater and sand has ruined vital farmland in low-lying areas.

Mr Brown says some of the victims are still in a state of shock.

"The people are settling down very, very slowly," he said.

"People are still living in tents but some of them have begun to leave temporary shelters.

"They are still very worried...they need tents - proper tents, not tarpaulins - and I told them that I will be talking with World Vision if they have any tents because they have to move out from where they are."

Audio: Tomotu Province Premier on post-tsunami challenges (ABC News)

0.MAJOR CHANGES SINCE PREVIOUS VERSION OF THE HIP

The transfer of funds which remained unspent in 2012 on the DIPECHO Budget Line to the budget of 2013 has offered the possibility of a modest increase of ECHO's smallest DIPECHO programme. An amount of EUR 218,746.26 is added to the HIP for DIPECHO Pacific bringing it from initially EUR 2,800,000 to a new total of EUR 3,018,746.26. This amount is already taken into consideration in the ongoing assessment of proposals received for assessment round 1. Therefore, no further assessment round is being planned.

1. CONTEXT

The Pacific region features among the most disaster prone regions in the world in terms of recurrence, severity and scope of hazards, with high exposure to cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, tidal surges, landslides, flash floods, drought, forest fires, volcano eruptions, as well as epidemics. This is compounded by environmental degradation and climate change.

Lack of economic diversity, remoteness from major trade and commercial sectors, weak governance frameworks, strong gender inequalities and widespread gender-based violence are factors which characterize many of the Pacific island nations and exacerbate their vulnerability to disasters. Although with a total population of some 10 million spread across the vast area of the Pacific Ocean the number of mortalities and people affected by a disaster can appear rather low in the usual disaster statistics, the Pacific countries rank among the highest in the number of casualties and people affected per 100,000.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr today announced that Australia has sent a medical team to Solomon Islands to assist with the dengue fever outbreak.

Senator Carr said the Australian Government has agreed to provide the National Referral Hospital in Honiara and provincial hospitals with additional staff following a request for assistance from the Solomon Islands Government.

"An initial assessment team were deployed to Solomon Islands earlier this week to evaluate the situation," Senator Carr said.

"Australia has sent an additional nine person medical taskforce today to work with local medical authorities and help control the outbreak."

The taskforce, which will include doctors, nurses and public health experts is being led by a senior AusAID response manager.

In addition, a 10 person medical taskforce will remain on standby to deploy at short notice if needed.

The Solomon Islands Ministry of Health has been working hard to respond to the outbreak which started in January.

Australia's support will provide much needed relief to local medical staff, while maintaining patient care and treatment.

There are serious concerns that a spread of the outbreak to the provinces will be very difficult to manage without further support.

Australia's support will draw on specialist medical capabilities from Australian State-based medical services.

In the last five days there have been an additional 276 dengue cases reported in Solomon Islands.

As of 2 April 2013, this brings the total number of suspected or confirmed dengue cases nationally to 1975.

Three deaths have also been reported.

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully today announced New Zealand will send medical staff to the Solomon Islands following an outbreak of dengue fever.

“The outbreak has put considerable strain on the health system – depleting resources and overwhelming staff,” Mr McCully says.

There are almost 1700 suspected cases of dengue fever - 1200 of those in Honiara - and three reported deaths.

“New Zealand will send a doctor and a nurse to support the Solomon Islands Government response to the outbreak,” Mr McCully says.

“The medical staff are from the Ministry of Health and will deploy for an initial period of up to two weeks as part of an Australian-led medical team.”

Dengue fever is a serious viral disease spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands, Apr 8 2013 (IPS) - The Solomon Islands, a developing island nation in the south-west Pacific Islands, has one of the highest urbanisation rates in the region, and the basic service infrastructure is struggling to cater for the influx of people from the provinces to the capital, Honiara. Thirty-five percent of the city’s population, who live in informal settlements, are facing the health consequences of a dire shortage of clean water and sanitation.

Located on the main island of Guadalcanal, Honiara is a coastal city and port of 64,600 people growing at 2.7 percent a year. Thirty informal settlements in the capital are home to more than 22,500 people. Many have come for economic opportunities and better access to public services, while others were displaced during the ‘Tensions’ (1999-2003), a civil conflict between communities over access to land and resources on Guadalcanal.

Households throughout Honiara experience shortages of clean water for cooking, drinking and washing on a daily basis. But in the informal settlements a household survey has revealed that 92 percent do not have any water supply to their homes, 27 percent use communal stand taps and 20 percent collect water from wells, rivers and streams.

Sanitation coverage in the Solomon Islands is 32 percent, according to the Solomon Islands Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector Brief (WASH), while the regional average is 46 percent. In the urban settlements of Honiara, only 2 percent of people have access to flush toilets, 20 percent use pit toilets and 55 percent use the sea, river or nearby land.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) population growth is one factor impacting the availability of fresh water in many Pacific Island nations, as it is in the Solomon Islands.

But much of the water supply and sanitation infrastructure in Honiara was seriously damaged during the ‘Tensions’ and, since then, development funding has prioritised peace and reconciliation, law and justice, governance and economic development.

A spokesperson for the Solomon Islands Water Authority (SIWA), which is responsible for the urban water supply, explained to IPS that the “current (water supply) network is not able to supply the water demand due to pipe restrictions and the limited and aged pipe network cannot meet the demand of the rapidly expanding population in Honiara.” Thus regular water shortages result when “rationing of water has to be implemented to ensure that everyone has access to water.”

However, in squatter settlements most people live without piped water. Water for washing and bathing is from the well,” Alison, a resident of Henderson Settlement, home to 3,000 people on the urban outskirts told IPS. “But we have to go far to look for our water for drinking and cooking. We just look for where people have tanks and then ask them if they will allow us to use some of their tank water.”

Lord Howe Settlement, situated adjacent to the city centre, comprises several hundred migrants from the Polynesian island Ontong Java in the eastern Solomon Islands. The community has access to one communal tap for every three to four families which provides town supplied water during certain hours of the day,” Father Muliava, the local pastor said. “But there are days when the tap is dry and there is no water. We store water in plastic containers and try and manage the supply.”

The state of sanitation is equally critical. “There are about three houses here which have proper sanitation, but most people use the nearby beach, even though it is not safe to use at night,” Father Muliava said. At Henderson, Ruth and her husband have access to a pit toilet. But she told IPS: “We cannot use the toilet during the day. It is an open toilet and the other families sit around, so there is no privacy.”

One outcome is regular cases of dysentery, diarrhoea and cholera. According to UNEP, 10 percent of all fatalities of children under five years throughout the Pacific Islands are caused by diarrhoea related diseases. In the Solomon Islands it is 8 percent.

At Henderson, Alison recounted: “I was admitted recently to hospital after I suffered a miscarriage. I didn’t use proper water and developed an infection and became ill. The doctor said I need access to clean water.”

“My little child has skin rashes all over her body from the water,” she added. Water and sanitation deprivation has also been linked to violence against women, according to a 2011 Amnesty International report.

Women and girls are vulnerable to rape and sexual harassment when they have no option but to walk considerable distances unaccompanied, in some cases round trips of three to six kilometres per day to collect water, use water sources for bathing or when there are only exposed places available for sanitation purposes.

The government introduced a national policy to combat violence against women in 2010. But gender violence remains a concern with the Solomon Islands Family Health and Safety Study confirming that 64 percent of women aged 15-49 years, who have been in relationships, experience some form of domestic abuse. “If there is no water available, men harass women because it is the role of the woman to go and find water,” Ruth said.

Posted 15 April 2013, 7:23 AEST

A team of health specialists from Australia and Fiji has arrived in Solomon Islands to tackle an outbreak of dengue fever.

Since the first case was reported four months ago, the virus has continued to spread quickly.

Three people have died and there are at least 2,500 suspected cases of dengue fever, mostly in the capital Honiara.

However Dr Yvan Souarès, who manages the Health Protection program at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, says the virus could easily spread to other regions.

"Population movements between the capital city and the various provinces are of course are very important in countries like the Solomon Islands and especially of course you are aware of the tsunami and all the damages that affected the provice of Temotu," he said.

"Currently the public health systems in the Solomons is very stretched out."

The strain of dengue fever is one which hasn't been seen in the Pacific for 30 years.

Dr Souares says it's also never been reported in Solomon Islands.

"You have to exercise some caution in interpreting these facts - because the recording in some countries like the Solomons is not fully reliable," he said.

"Historical data never mention this strain in the Solomons in the past, but that does not mean it do not reach there.

"But...it seems that a lot of the population is not immune to the virus - hence the high number of cases and the spread to a lot of provinces now."

Dr Souares says it's important to reiterate that the current virus in the Solomons is no different to any previous outbreak.

"It's a little bit like influenza virus, which circulates amongst a population...and when it reaches a population which has not seen that virus for a while, the fringe of that population is therefore susceptible to the virus," he said.

"There's no specific harm that's being caused by this virus because of its changes in genetics for example - there's no such thing going on."

It's been more than four months since the first outbreak of dengue fever was reported in Solomon Islands.

Solomons dengue outbreak blamed on unusual virus strain (Credit: ABC)

Since then, the virus has continued to spread, and as of last week, there were more than 2,500 suspected cases.

The strain has never been reported in Solomon Islands before and has not been reported in the Pacific region for more than 15 years.

It's prompting fears the virus could cause major outbreaks in other Pacific countries.

Presenter:Geraldine Coutts

Speaker: Dr Yvan Souarès, manager of the Health Protection program at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

The Situation

Since January 2013, approximately 1,970 suspected and confirmed dengue cases have been reported, resulting in three deaths. More than 1,800 of the cases have been reported in Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands, while the others are in the provinces of Guadalcanal and Gizo. There has been a steep increase in the hospitalization of dengue suspected cases in the aftermath of the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck on 6 February. It is currently the rainy season in Solomon Islands, increasing the breeding sites of the Aedes mosquito which transmits the disease.

The trend in the bed-occupancy rate remains well over 95 per cent. Those with severe dengue requiring blood transfusion accounts for more than 20 per cent of the cases. The Solomon Islands Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MoHMS) has been working hard to respond to the outbreak since January. The MoHMS has enacted their emergency plans and requested the assistance of the national disaster management office (NDMO) to staff the hospital Emergency Operations Center (EOC) which is running 24/7.

Authorities in Solomon Islands say they have been unable to contain the spread of dengue fever with new cases reported throughout the country. There are serious concerns that a spread of the outbreak to the provinces will be very difficult to manage without further support. Following a request from the Solomon Islands Government, the governments of Australia and New Zealand have sent medical teams to the Solomon Islands to assist with the response.

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the Australian Government has agreed to provide additional staff for the National Referral Hospital in Honiara and provincial hospitals. An initial assessment team was deployed to evaluate the situation, and an additional nine-person medical taskforce was subsequently deployed to work with local medical authorities and help control the outbreak. A senior AusAID response manager is leading the taskforce, which includes doctors, nurses and public health experts.

15 Apr 2013 - Since January 2013, approximately 1,970 suspected and confirmed dengue cases and three deaths have been reported. More than 1,800 of the cases were reported in Honiara. The others are in Gizo in Western Province and in Guadalcanal Province.

Link: Dengue Fever Outbreak: Information Bulletin n° 1

1. DPR Korea - Crisis Watch classifies the situation in DPR Korea as "deteriorating" in response to recent decisions by the authorities there to cut off communications with the Rep. of Korea; an order to ensure its rockets are combat-ready and targeting US bases in the region, and its declaration that it was in a "state of war" with the Rep. of Korea. Source: ICG

2. Myanmar - Since 6 April IDPs have been allowed to return to their damaged houses to search through debris in Meikhtila prior to land clearance in preparation for rebuilding homes. As a result of the Government-led ‘family reunification process’ several persons have been reunited with family members. Source: OCHASitrep

3. Indonesia - On 12 April, floods along the Bengawan Solo River killed 11 people and inundated 22,830 houses in Central and East Java. The Government is responding. Source: BNPB, OCHA

4. Japan - A 6.0 Rs earthquake struck western Japan on 13 April. 25 people were reported injured in five Prefectures (17 injured in Hyogo). 1,974 buildings/houses were damaged in four Prefectures (1,967 buildings in Hyogo) - mostly concentrated on Awaji Island. No damages to infrastructure were reported including gas and electricity. Water supply was temporarily disrupted affecting 79 household in Hyogo Prefecture, all of which have been restored by now. Source: OCHA

5. China - As of 14 April, 60 H7N9 human infection cases have been reported nationwide with 24 in Shanghai, 16 in Jiangsu, 15 in Zhejiang, two in Anhui, two in Henan and one in Beijing. Of the 60 infected people, 13 have died. Source: Media

6. Malaysia/Philippines - Over 7,350 people have arrived in the Philippines from Sabah since 5 March. Source: The Philippines HRC, UNHCR

7. Papua New Guinea - A 6.6 Rs earthquake struck Panguna and Arawa areas in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea on the 14 April. No reports of damages or deaths. Source: PDC, USGS, OCHA

8. Solomon Islands- Since January a Dengue outbreak in Solomon Islands which originated in the capital Honiara has spread to other provinces and continues despite the efforts of health officials. Three deaths and 2,226 cases have been reported as of 4April. Source: OCHA

Precipitation Forecast - The latest forecasts predict average levels of precipitation around the region. There is a chance of below average rainfall in Tuvalu and Tokelau Source: IRI

Ongoing Emergencies: - Philippines: Typhoon Bopha - Myanmar: Rakhine State - Myanmar: Kachin State

Listen to the radio

Liam Fox, PNG correspondent and wires

Solomon Islands National Referral Hospital is struggling to deal with the numbers of women giving birth in Honiara.

The closure of the maternity ward and women choosing to leave the provinces for Honiara has put pressure on facilities in the capital.

There was a 20 per cent increase in births in March, compared with the previous month.

Presenter: Geraldine Coutts

Speaker: George Manimu, CEO National Referral Hospital

MANIMU: In actual fact birth rate has been high for the last couple of years. There is not really any big increase this year, however the problem that we have is that of accommodation or space within the hospital to accommodate the mothers. I think that's the problem that we have at the moment.

COUTTS: So you're actually saying that there hasn't been an actual increase in the birth rate, it's just that more people are coming in to Honiara from the provinces to have their babies?

MANIMU: That's right because of easy transportation, like now relatively it's easier to come to Honiara than before, so more mothers prefer to come and deliver here than in the provinces or in the clinics.

COUTTS: Well how much of a problem is it presenting to the hospital now with an influx of so many women coming to Honiara to have their babies?

MANIMU: Well the problem that we have at the moment is that because we closed part of the (word indistinct) ward, we closed the antenatal ward because we have some structural problems with the building, so it's closed. So that's say about ten beds of 15 beds within that building that is closed.

COUTTS: Where are the women going to have their babies then, are they moving into the general wards now?

MANIMU: No, we are managing them by discharging them early, like mothers who can go, maybe we keep them for a day and then discharge them instead of two days or something like that. So we discharge them early.

COUTTS: So across the region there's a trend of rising birth rate, and Solomon Islands is obviously seeing that as well. Are mothers becoming younger and younger?

MANIMU: Yes that's true, that's true.

COUTTS: What age group now?

MANIMU: Well we're seeing maybe 15 years, like that, even one or two below that, but yes we are beginning to see young mothers coming to the hospital to deliver.

COUTTS: Is this an issue of teenage pregnancies, unmarried mothers?

MANIMU: That's right, that's right.

COUTTS: And so how much of an increase is there in the teenage pregnancies?

MANIMU: I can't say at the moment, but it's a fact and it's something that we are seeing at the moment, but I don't have the figures at hand at the moment.

COUTTS: And if you closed that ward, I mean what other issues is it presenting for you discharging women early, but what about blood products and nursing staff to go around to manage these high numbers that are coming in to Honiara now?

MANIMU: Well basically it's a temporary closure just for repairs, and once that's done we can reopen that part of the hospital.

COUTTS: And have you got enough money from donors and what not, I mean where's the money going?

MANIMU: Well at the moment we have to work with the funds that we have because parliament's already met and we're using our budget now. So it's not an easy thing to get funds even from donors, especially because donors also channel their money through set procedures within the ministry. So we are using what we have at our disposal to rectify some of these situations.

COUTTS: And are you looking to get more beds?

MANIMU: Not really, not really, we have actually introduced additional beds into the hospital, but that is simply to cover for the number of dengue cases that are coming to the hospital.

COUTTS: And how many cases are you seeing?

MANIMU: Well at the moment they're in 30 beds to the hospital.

COUTTS: And they're only for the dengue cases?

MANIMU: Only for the dengue cases, only for dengue yes.

COUTTS: How many more are you expecting?

MANIMU: At the moment we are not seeing any more increase, dengue is still around but it's not very high as we saw in the beginning.

COUTTS: What's the average stay of a patient with dengue fever?

MANIMU: Well it depends on how serious because we only admit severe dengue cases to the ward, others are sent home, even if they are found positive we still send them home.

COUTTS: And is dengue fever seasonal?

MANIMU: No, in fact this is an epidemic and this is the first time that we've seen such an epidemic in Solomon Islands. We've had sporadic cases of dengue in the past, but in terms of epidemic, I think this is the first time that we've seen such an increase at this time of the year.

COUTTS: How many cases have you seen, how many cases have you admitted?

MANIMU: So far we've seen more than 500 positive cases, half of which were admitted and I think we've seen three deaths.

The dengue outbreak in the Solomon Islands continues to spread, and health authorities are struggling to find sufficient money to help combat the epidemic.

A fourth death has now been reported, along with a sharp increase in cases of the mosquito-borne disease.

Presenter:Geraldine Cootes

Speaker: Dr Lester Ross, Permanent Secretary for the Solomon Islands Ministry of Health

Listen to the story

On World Malaria Day 2013, 25 April, we reflect on the progress Australia and our partners have made to combat malaria in our region whilst recognising the challenges that remain.

The Asia–Pacific has made impressive progress in the fight against malaria. Between 2000 and 2010 there was an estimated 25 per cent decrease in the number of malaria cases and an even bigger decrease in the number of deaths.

There are however more than two billion people in the region at risk of contracting the disease and in 2010 there were about 30 million cases and 42,000 malaria deaths. The region also faces the challenge of emerging resistance to medicines and insecticides used in malaria control. Resistance to artemisinin, the core ingredient in the most effective malaria treatment, puts at risk the gains that have been made to date to combat malaria.

Malaria threatens development in the region. Poor people are most vulnerable: they live and work in environments where the risk of malaria infection is high, and are less likely to have access to preventive measures such as mosquito nets. When they fall ill, they might not be able to access or afford treatment.

The tools and interventions used in the fight against malaria are proven and effective: we know how to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria in most settings. In fact, in many countries the elimination of malaria is within reach.

In November 2012 at Malaria 2012: Saving lives in the Asia-Pacific [external website], representatives from over 30 countries and 130 organisations in the Asia–Pacific region agreed to work together to reduce malaria cases and deaths by 75 per cent by 2015 and contain artemisinin resistance. The conference achieved consensus on the need for regional political leadership and collaboration through the formation of the Asia–Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance, and priority areas for action. We continue to engage with countries of the region, development partners and the UN Special Envoy and work towards the formation of the Leaders Alliance.

High level political commitment to this issue was demonstrated at the 7th East Asia Summit Leaders' meeting in Phnom Penh where our Prime Minister secured agreement to an Australian proposed declaration on malaria elimination and drug resistance: Regional Responses to Malaria Control and Addressing Resistance to Antimalarial Medicines [external website].

Malaria affected countries in our region are demonstrating the commitment to invigorate responses to malaria and to take urgent collective action to contain malaria drug resistance that has emerged in the Greater Mekong sub-region.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is making an important contribution to this effort. The Global Fund has allocated $100 million over two years for a regional initiative to combat drug resistant malaria [external website] in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. This signals Global Fund’s commitment to a regional response and recognition of emerging drug resistance as a major and urgent global public health concern. The World Health Organization’s launch of the Emergency Response to Artemisinin Resistance in the Greater Mekong Sub-region is a welcome, vital scientific framework to guide the regional response. As part of the commitment made at Malaria 2012, Australia has funded, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the establishment of the regional hub in Cambodia from which WHO activities will be coordinated and technical support to countries in the region to strengthen the emergency response to artemisinin resistance.

In addition the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between Australia and China identifies malaria as a joint priority. The first project under the MOU commences this month and targets drug resistant malaria in Papua New Guinea.

As well as increasing access to quality drugs and diagnostics, which we know work, Australia is also working to develop new and better tools to improve our ability to combat malaria. Under AusAID’s new Medical Research Strategy, we are beginning to invest in Product Development Partnerships (PDPs). These partnerships are not-for-profit organisations which work to create new drugs, vaccines or diagnostic tests that benefit the poor. AusAID is working with the United Kingdom Department for International Development to make an initial investment in PDPs this year to develop new tools and technologies for malaria.

Results

Australia’s ongoing investment in malaria control and elimination in the region is delivering results. In Myanmar, our contribution of $18.5 million to the Three Disease Fund has enabled treatment for 1.9 million cases of malaria, distribution of 700,000 long lasting insecticide treated bed nets, re-treated 1.5 million insecticide treated nets and the distribution of 2.2 million rapid diagnostic tests.

Our support to the control and elimination of malaria in the Solomon Islands has been a great success, where the rate of malaria has fallen from 199 cases of malaria per 1,000 in 2003 to less than 45 cases per 1,000 in 2012. Also pleasing is the related reduction in malaria related deaths in the Solomon Islands. Fewer Solomon Islanders, including pregnant mothers and infants (who are particularly vulnerable to malaria) are dying of malaria thanks to the Government’s efforts, which our aid program is helping to fund. Similarly, impressive results have been delivered in Vanuatu where the number of malaria cases has dropped by more than two-thirds in the last decade (from over 74 cases per 1000 people in 2003, to less than 13 cases per 1000 people in 2012).

Progress to date has been impressive but accelerated efforts are needed to meet global targets and to contain drug resistant malaria by 2015. Australia looks forward to continued joint efforts with partners in the region to achieve global and national malaria targets in the Asia–Pacific, saving lives and reducing suffering and economic loss.

More information

• AusAID's work with health

• Video: James Gilling on saving lives in the Asia-Pacific from malaria

• Video: Global Fund's Dr Mark Dybul on malaria

• Blog: Dr Mark Dybul—Partnerships that pay off

MANILA, 24 April 2013 -On World Malaria Day, 25 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Western Pacific urges Member States to remain steadfast in the fight against malaria to preserve the gains made and eliminate malaria as a public health threat.

The theme for World Malaria Day this year is “Invest in the future. Defeat malaria.” because progress towards malaria control or elimination must be maintained and intensified.

“We have accomplished a tremendous amount in the fight against malaria, but still have much to do," said WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Shin Young-soo. "Not only does the fight against malaria save lives, it promotes progress towards other key development goals, including increasing maternal and child survival, improving the health of people living with HIV and reducing poverty.”

Malaria is endemic in 10 out of 37 countries and areas in the Western Pacific Region, including Cambodia, China's Yunnan province, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam in the Greater Mekong Subregion. In the Mekong Subregion, it is concentrated in remote forested areas, and disproportionately affects ethnic minorities and mobile and migrant populations. It is also intense in most of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

The Western Pacific Region is making excellent progress against malaria. Overall, the malaria morbidity rate fell by 46% and malaria mortality rate by 73% between 2000 and 2011.

According to The World Malaria Report 2012, the number of microscopically confirmed malaria cases decreased by more than 75% between 2000 and 2011 in six countries: Cambodia, China, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, and Viet Nam. The number of reported malaria-related deaths fell by more than 75% in Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Philippines and Viet Nam over the same period.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the Western Pacific Region, one of the biggest challenges to malaria control is artemisinin-resistant falciparum malaria.

Artemisinins are the key compounds in artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). ACTs are the first-line treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in most endemic countries, and have been central to the remarkable recent successes in global malaria prevention and control.

While artemisinin resistance containment efforts on the Cambodia–Thailand border have been successful, new foci of resistance are being discovered in other areas of the Greater Mekong Subregion, necessitating a regional containment strategy.

This strategy is enshrined in the "Emergency Response to Artemisinin Resistance in the Greater Mekong Subregion" framework, which will be launched on World Malaria Day 2013 in Cambodia. This framework reiterates the overarching goal of protecting the artemisinin-based combination therapies as effective treatments for falciparum malaria.

Stakeholders are urged to scale up and increase the effectiveness of interventions to address artemisinin resistance. The document draws increased attention to implementing strategies and lessons learnt from the ongoing containment efforts and from conclusions drawn in joint assessments. It outlines existing guidance for artemisinin resistance containment and describes the areas where action is urgently needed in order to improve efforts in containing artemisinin resistance.

At the 7th East Asia Summit held on 20 November 2012 in Cambodia, heads of state from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States of America pledged in the "Declaration of the 7th East Asia Summit on Regional Responses to Malaria Control and Addressing Resistance to Antimalarial Medicines" to strengthen national and regional responses to antimalarial drug resistance. The leaders warned that resistance to artemisinin “threatens the considerable gains made in malaria control in the Region, and its possible spread represents a major threat to national, regional and global malaria control”.

Malaria can be controlled through: early diagnosis and prompt and effective treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapies, and vector control measures, such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

“Defeating malaria will require a high level of political commitment, strengthened regional cooperation and the engagement of a number of sectors outside of health, including finance, education, defence, environment, mining, industry and tourism,” said WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. “The fight against this disease needs to be integrated into the overall development agenda in endemic countries.”

For more information, please contact:

Dr Eva-Maria Christophel Team Leader, Malaria other Vectorborne and Parasitic Diseases Tel: +632 528 9725 E-mail: christophele@wpro.who.int

Mr Timothy O’Leary Public Information Officer Tel: +632 528 9992 E-mail: olearyt@wpro.who.int

The Caritas Annual Report shows our work in 2012 through five strategic priorities identified during the year: addressing poverty at home and abroad, responding to emergencies, upholding the dignity and rights of indigenous peoples, promoting environmental justice, and connecting effectively with our Catholic community.

Public donations topped $3 million last year, including a record Lent total of more than $900,000. We are grateful for the government’s New Zealand Aid Programme which contributed almost $1 million towards Caritas development and relief programmes.

These contributions helped support long-term development and emergency relief across Asia, Africa and the Pacific, including ongoing earthquake recovery in Christchurch. New partnerships for development were forged with two dioceses in the Solomon Islands.

Within New Zealand we continued to advocate for our most vulnerable citizens, such as beneficiaries, young workers and refugees. Our relationship with Te Rūnanga o te Hāhi Katorika (National Māori Catholic Council) and work on indigenous issues is developing, while our work promoting justice, peace and Catholic social teaching in Catholic schools continues to be well-received.