New Zealand has stepped up its development aid for neighboring Pacific islands to help them to improve their preparedness and combat the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) told Development Aid News that initial funding of US$50 million was made available to Pacific Governments in 2020.
“New Zealand has worked very closely with Pacific Island governments through the pandemic. An initial US$50 million package of support in 2020 helped the Pacific countries to prepare health systems and address wider health, economic, governance, and social challenges arising from the effects of the pandemic,” the MFAT spokesperson said.
Physical isolation, as well as prompt anti-pandemic measures, helped the Pacific states to keep the spread of the coronavirus under control. By the beginning of May 2021, 11 Pacific countries had reported a total number of 39,386 of confirmed coronavirus cases and 413 deaths.
The worst-hit Pacific country, Papua New Guinea (11,630 confirmed cases and 121 deaths), received US$5 million in support from New Zealand.
The MFAT spokesperson said New Zealand was “working closely with the Government of Papua New Guinea, the World Health Organization and partner countries, including Australia and France, to assess possible areas for further support and will consider requests as they arise.”
To ensure a further improvement in the situation, New Zealand announced its support for vaccine delivery to the region.
“We have committed US$47.1228 million to support vaccine access and delivery in the Pacific and US$12.3244million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to support access to vaccines for low-income countries, including in the Pacific,” the spokesperson said.
Although the Pacific has so far managed to avoid a massive spread of COVID-19, the restrictions introduced triggered severe social and economic issues. According to a forecast by the Washington-based think tank, Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the economies of Pacific countries, largely dependent on trade and tourism, were expected to shrink by almost 6% whereas the number of Pacific residents who face the risk of experiencing extreme poverty could increase by 40%.
Commenting on the situation, the spokesperson said: “New Zealand remains committed to working closely with our Pacific partners to get through the time ahead. Although we have been quick to provide funding – including directly supporting Pacific budgets, the need is vast and ongoing. We continue to work with a range of partners to coordinate COVID-19 preparedness and response efforts in the region.”
New Zealand’s official development assistant (ODA) allocated to its Pacific neighbors accounts for about 60% of its total ODA with its 2018-2021 ODA budget providing over US$962 million to Pacific countries.
