Thursday, November 12, 2009

[pima.nius] [pacific-journos] Economic Tsunami Looms for the Pacific

11:15 AM |




              (Embedded image moved to file: pic08514.jpg)

                              Press Release

                 Economic Tsunami Looms for the Pacific

[Suva  –  November 12] The Pacific is faced with an economic tsunami in the
form  of  the  global  economic and financial crisis.  More households will
find   themselves   sliding   into  poverty,  while  others  will  find  it
increasingly  hard  to  make  ends  meet.  The  urban poor, small scale and
subsistence  farmers, low skilled workers, internal-migrants and immigrants
will find themselves facing more hardship as a result of the crisis.

If  no  appropriate  action  is  taken,  the lives of many Pacific peoples,
especially  women and children, stand to be shattered. This could lead to a
regression  in  development  gains  made  towards  achieving the Millennium
Development Goals.

The  World  Bank describes the current global economic and financial crisis
as a development emergency.

It  is  for these reasons that the Government of Vanuatu, together with the
United Nations and other development partners, will convene a conference on
the human face of the global economic crisis and its impact on the Pacific.

"The  impact  of the current crisis will depend on a variety of factors and
will  vary between different countries. Nevertheless, children and women in
Pacific  Island  countries  are  likely  to  be  amongst  the most severely
affected,  and  those  already  most  vulnerable  will  face  the  greatest
impacts,"  said  Knut Ostby, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations and
Resident  Representative  of  the  UN  Development  Programme   (UNDP) Fiji
Multi-Country Office.

The  full impact of the global economic crisis has not yet been felt in the
Pacific.  This  gives  a  small  window  of  opportunity  to Pacific Island
governments to put together more thoughtful and effective policies that not
only buffer the effects of the current crisis but also build resilience for
future crises.

The  conference  will look at three major ways of building reinforcement to
counter  the  impact  of this economic tsunami. The first is to address the
vulnerabilities faced by women and children.  The second is to find ways to
enable  Pacific  governments to respond in creative and sustainable ways to
the  crisis.  This  includes promoting green growth and social safety nets.
The  final  reinforcement is to build the region's resilience in addressing
future crises.

A  report  produced by UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UNDP Pacific Centre,
"Protecting  Pacific  Island  Children  and  Women During Economic and Food
Crises:  Working  Edition  one  for  Advocacy,  Debate  and Guidance" urges
Pacific  governments  to  use  the  crisis as an opportunity to start a new
development paradigm.

"Pacific Island governments can use this crisis to jump start a new
development paradigm, one in which social expenditure on children and women
is at the heart of a more inclusive and sustainable pattern of economic
growth in the region," states the report.

The report discusses a set of new policy options to protect women, children
and other members of society from being washed away in this economic
tsunami.


                                 [Ends]

Background Information:

The  Pacific  conference  on "The Human Face of the Global Economic Crisis"
will be held in Port Vila, Vanuatu from February 10-12, 2010. More than 200
people   including   government  ministers,  parliamentarians,  development
partners,   UN  agencies,  youth  and  women's  groups  and  civil  society
organizations  are  expected  to attend. The conference is organized by the
Government   of  Vanuatu  with  support  from  the  United  Nations,  Asian
Development  Bank,  Pacific  Islands  Forum Secretariat, Secretariat of the
Pacific Community and the University of the South Pacific.

The  report  "Protecting  Pacific Island children and women during economic
and food crises: Working Edition one for Advocacy, Debate and Guidance" can
be                               accessed                              from
http://www.undppc.org.fj/pages.cfm/publications/mdg-achievement-poverty-reduction-reports/


 For more information, please contact:
Jean  Sese, Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs on (678) 27045 or
jsese@vanuatu.gov.vu or
Donna    Hoerder,   Communications   Specialist   on   (679)   3300439   or
dhoerder@unicef.org ; or
Shobhna   Decloitre,   Communications   Associate   on   (679)  3300399  or
shobhna.decloitre@undp.org







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aotearoa, new zealand
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