February Newsletter 2024

Mar 19, 2024 | Newsletters | 0

The second month of 2024 has flown by for SISTA!

We began the month with a call out to interested women and girls, to try out Menstrual Cups – courtesy of Ambassde De France – and complete a survey at the end. Thank you to Ambassade de France for your support to Sista to promote diversity of sanitary products to the women of Vanuatu and to understand the Menstrual cup’s potential usability.

Sista’s Executive Director was in Bangkok from the 4^th – 6^th of February 2024, attending the Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Forum on the Priority Theme of the 68^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)! She also had the pleasure of attending the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Regional Consultation at the UN Conference Centre on the 7^th – 8^th of February 2024.

We celebrated and acknowledged Father Walter Lini Day on 21 February. We acknowledged the groundbreaking work he did for this country and celebrated his remarkable achievements.

“We must emphasize the need for respect, that respect is honourable. This means that wherever you come from – whatever island, village or country, if you don’t respect people from other places, you have no honour in your life.” – Late Father Walter Hayde Lini, First Prime Minister of Vanuatu and Father of Independence.

The team continued to share Gender-related news from our partners at Vanuatu Daily Post. We acknowledged the work Live and Learn were doing and the progressional achievement made by the Ministry of Education.

Keep reading to find out what we go up to in February!

Projects

Alvine Kweviradiu Vira – Sista Gat Style, Vanuatu Daily Post

In February, we celebrate the confident and gorgeous Alvine!

Hailing from Amata, a village located on Western Ambae, Alvine knows how important it is to cherish family and appreciate them when you can.

Currently a Second Lieutenant in the Vanuatu Mobile Force (VMF), Alvine shows us the elegant and bubbly side of her as she shares what it’s like being a woman in such a heavily male dominated space.

She understands that when she’s in uniform, she not only represents herself and the VMF, but all the other women wearing the same uniform, and the many more women to come.

Alvine lives by this quote: “In life, there are always challenges but it is how we cope with these challenges that matters.”

#SistaGatStyle #WomanAmbae #Beautifu #WomenInLeadership #WomenInVanuatuMobileForce

Gender Equality Together Team – CARE

On the 15^th of February 2024, the Gender Equality Together (GET) team under CARE in Vanuatu met with Sista for an afternoon meeting to support the Young Women Leadership Program (YWLP) that will be carried out this year. The partners went through the time frame for each of the activities during the meeting and shared ideas on what to expect from this partnership activities to be carried out and how to meet these outcomes.

Meet & Greet with Young Women’s Leadership Program – CARE

On the 20^th of February, the GET team and Sista’s Comms & Advocacy Officer and Project Officer met with the selected participants from Vila who are part of the Young Women Leadership program this year. The meeting was an opportunity to learn more about them and their expectations for the program. The meet and greet started with a self-introduction activity, and then the GET team outlined the program’s stages and topics, along with a short overview of the program and Sista’s involvement in the program. Even though some of the participants were timid to speak up, they showed an interest and actively interacted with the teams. We are super excited to be working closely with CARE again this year to inform and empower the YWLP participants this year.

Vois Blong Mi Video Project – CARE

This month the Comms & Advocacy Officer is moving forward with the Vois Blong Mi (VBM) Project with our partners at CARE. This project was put on hold last year 2023, but fortunately we received the green flag from CARE to go ahead with this project.

The team at CARE travelled down to the outer islands in TAFEA province, and collected data on issues that young girls are facing in rural areas. Resulting from this Participatory Action Research as a part of VBM, Sista is partnering with CARE to support them in creating 3 short films that will showcase the findings from this research.

We had our first meeting earlier this month with the Videographer as well as the two officers who are responsible for this project in CARE – which is exciting!

The Comms & Advocacy Officer has been assigned to look through all 3 scripts that were written last year and make necessary changes. Sista’s Project coordinator is overseeing the work and the Project officer is also on board to give support to the Comms & Advocacy Officer for leading this part of the project.

We will also be working closely with Wan Smol Bag to seek potential actors for all 3 films.

Round Table Podcast – We Rise Coalition, PACMAS

Episode 16 is out NOW! – Teenage Pregnancy

Brianna Toner, a young mother of two, joins Elsie at the Round Table to discuss what it’s like to fall pregnant while in school, and the types of support that were available to her when she found out she was expecting at just 16 years old!

The two young women unpack her lived experience, discuss the support Brianna wished would’ve

been available especially from the secondary school that she was attending, and the change that they would like to see from our education system 🇻🇺 to help better support our young mama’s finish school and get that certificate.

We hope this conversation encourages our communities and schools to understand the importance of providing space for young mothers to complete their education, and how their support plays a pivotal role in their new journey. #AleYumiStorian

Catch us on the Sista website to join the conversation: https://www.sista.com.vu/podcast/

This podcast is supported by the We Rise Coalition and PACMAS.

Distribution of Sikmun Storian booklets & Sista’s resources – Ambassade de France

The project team distributed the Sikmun Storian booklet and other Sista’s resources on the 23^rd of February to 14 different schools around Efate.

A big thank you to Ambassade de France for the support to develop the Sikmoon Storian booklet and for supporting the team with the distribution to the schools.

The books that were distributed include:

Rod Blong Jenis/Journey to Change (Spotlight Initiative),
Nation Builders: Celebrating Women in the Private Sector (Balance of Power),
Cyber safety (CARE in Vanuatu),
How to be an Ally (VPride) and
Sikmoon Storian (Ambassde De France)

Thanks to CARE for providing extra copies of the Go!Cyber booklet and Balance of Power for the extra copies of Nation Builders: Celebrating Women in the Private Sector booklet.

It was a joy seeing how these schools were open to holding these resources in their libraries. They appreciated the fact that Sista wanted to share these resources with them and help normalize the discussion around menstruation which has been regarded as a tabu.

Distribution of Menstrual Cup & Survey – Ambassde De France

Sixty cups were purchased and distributed to women and girls who were interested in participating in this project, which includes completing a survey after using the menstrual cup that was given to them.

The Survey was intended to be submitted by the end of March 2024. However, the team is still waiting on a few ladies to submit their surveys. We were glad to have the Abassade de France visit Sista’s office on the 27^th of February to update on our progress and achievements so far with this project. THANK YOU Ambassde De France for the generous support, we can’t wait to share our findings with you all soon!

Global Giving & Island Reach

Another Project we’re working on this month was the identification and purchasing of Solar products funded by Global Giving and Island Reach. We have purchased 33 solar products to distribute to 33 women, specifically single mothers, who have participated in our Strong Mama Program. Early next month, the team will start reaching out to these women to distribute these solar products.

Gender Resources and Organisational Mapping – We Rise Coalition

In February the Sista team running the Gender Resources and Organisational Mapping Activity finalized the planning and the logistics of the activity. At the starting of the month the team organized forms to be distributed to all organisations participating in the maping activity, debriefed on th actuvuty planning and circulated these forms to all partner organisations. Some organisations have already returned their forms while the team continues to follow up and seek out organisations to particpate in this mapping activity. Many partner organisations have indicated that they have recieved the forms and will be sending them back once filled in while other partners have scheduled meetings to learn more about the activity or requested support in filling the forms.

This activity is ongoing.

Other News

Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Forum

Sista’s Executive Director was in Bangkok from the 4^th – 6^th of February 2024, attending the Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Forum on the Priority Theme of the 68^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)! She also had the pleasure of attending ESCAP Regional Consultation at the UN Conference Centre on the 7^th – 8^th of February.

The priority theme this year is, ‘accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective’

The forum brought together youth, grass roots organisations, feminists, and activists, across the Asia-Pacific region to collectively examine and identify actionable regional priorities and put forth recommendations for the CSW68 session and the agreed conclusions on the priority theme.

Read more and see photos from the forum HERE.

Pacific Human Rights Defenders Network Workshops

The Sista Communications and Advocacy Coordinator and the We Rise Communications and Advocacy Coordinator attended two days of a three day workshop on developing protection startegies for human rights defenders (HRDs) and atrocity prevention in the Pacific made possible by the Pacific Human Rights Defenders Network, the United Nations Human Rights office of the High Comissioner Pacific Regional office and Asia Pacific Center for the responsibilty to Protect.

The workshop brought together HRDs from Pacific Island countries to build our knowledge and capacity on local, regional, international legal protection mechanisms to protect human rights defenders and innitiatied discussions on protecting HRDs in the Pacific.

The twos days that Sista was fortunate enough to have attended were very informative and filled with comprehensive presentations and lively discussions shared by all the HRDs in attendance. The Sista team learned alot of new things and the workshop provided a wonderful setting for networking with organisations working in different communities throughout Vanuatu. It was also wonderful to learn of the work of Magna Carta is doing in Papua New Guinea and meet HRDs from other Pacific countries and learn of issues in their own country contexts.

Additionally, the Sista team attended the very successful launch dinner of the UN Declaration of Human rights translated into three indigenous languages; Tok Pisin, Bislama and iTaukei. These translations will make it more accessible to HRDs in Vanuatu, Fiji and Papau New Guinea.
There were a lot of wonderful resources shared with Sista during these two days and has given the two attending coordinators a lot of new information and resources to reflect on.

General Key Stakeholder Meetings

February was a month of connecting with key stakeholders – from catch ups with CARE, World Vision, Ambassade De France and Vanuatu Skills Partnership, to engaging with Mike from Vois Blong Yumi on the upcoming referendum and ways that Sista can support, to having a meeting with Board to discuss how to strengthen the ED’s leadership and how to strategically engage in upcoming regional and international spaces.

The ED also met with Australian Volunteers, and we are excited to announce we are in the final stages of procuring a volunteer in July. The ED also had the pleasure of a consultation with the team from Pacific Women Lead Enabling Services (PWLES) who undertook a Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) analytical exercise as Australia’s International Development Policy has been released and the development of DFAT’s new Gender Equality Strategy and Disability Equity and Rights Strategy is underway.

The most exciting meeting of all was finally signing an MOU with Department of Women’s Affairs for the Stanap Strong Library and Sista Library!

NGEP Technical Working Group Meeting

The ED attended another technical working group meeting at The Grand Hotel. We listened to the Vanuatu Electoral office (VEO) provide an update on referendum, as well as reviewed the updated terms of reference for the NGEP Technical Working Group for Advancing Women’s Leadership and Political Participation and reviewed the last minutes of the meeting held on 30th August 2023.

Regional Training with Fiji Women’s Rights Movement

On February 12 – 13, Sista’s Finance and HR Manager attended a regional training conducted by Fiji Women’s Right Movement on how to be Gender Responsive and Transformative.

It was an exciting opportunity to learn from our regional partners and understand how much of an impact is made when we use gender responsive and transformative lens when reviewing national budgets.

It was also a chance to reflect on the work we, as a country, have yet to do to ensure transformative change.

Sista’s Finance and HR Manager also had the chance to visit FWRM’s workplace and meet with their finance team.

World Vision Partnership

Sista and World Vision Vanuatu signed a partnership agreement on the 19^th of February 2024 to work with and support the Inclusive WASH portfolio. The goal of this project is to ensure gender equality and social inclusion are central to WVV’s new project approach, utilizing communications and advocacy strengths from partner civil society organizations to elevate the WASH needs of the most vulnerable on a national scale.

Financial Spot Check with International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA)

Towards the end of the month, Sista’s Executive Director and Finance & HR Manager attended a zoom call with IWDA to discuss and plan the following activities as part of Sista’s organizational and capacity strengthening: financial spot check, capacity assessment review, Project Risk Management, safeguarding training and refresher training on some main policies such as the Child Protection Policy and Preventing Sexual Exploitation Abuse and Harassment. Sista’s Financial Spot Check was then held on the 29th of February via zoom call.

The aim of this financial spot check is to assess the health of Sista as an organization by reviewing its financial standards of procedures such as procurement processes, payroll processes, etc.

Sista’s Acting Program Manager

On Wednesday 28th February, Sista has appointed Ms Josepheen Tarianga as the Acting Program Manager. Josepheen has joined the Sista team on the 23^rd of May 2023 as the Communications Coordinator for We Rise Coalition. And now, she will be carrying out both roles until we find another person suitable for the role of Program Manager.

Finance Training with Marilou Cajot

Sista’s Finance and Admin accompanied by the Finance and Human Resources Manager attended a 3-day Finance training facilitated by Marilou Cajot at the Melanesian Hotel.

The training commenced on the 21^st of February and ended on the 23^rd of February.

The training commenced with each organization listing out their steps to implementing a project once they received a grant from a donor, this followed by Marilou combining information listed out by each participant and gave out the correct procedures on Planning, Implementation and Management of grant funds, Grant funded Assets and entry of Costed Workplan to Budget Manager on Xero.

Another objective of this training was to get everyone to understand the accounting cycle and to see how their roles within their organizations plays a part in this cycle, also the project team should be able to identify what account codes should be used when applying for funds to carry out an activity.

Reflection with Annie Douglas

This month we also had the pleasure of connecting with Annie Douglas again. Annie visited the Sista team last year to carry out research for her paper based on “Understanding young women’s empowerment: A case study of international development programs in Vanuatu”. This month she visited us again to share her findings so far and the team was able to unpack some of the results with her. A highlight of her findings was that empowerment is not just an individual thing, it’s collective in Vanuatu. We are so glad to have been able to be part of this research paper and look forward to reading the final report !

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NEWS

‘The scars children carry can last a lifetime’ August 13, 2026
Amid the public outrage and questions over the President’s recent pardoning of convicted rapists and the alarming increase in child abuse cases in Vanuatu, the REACH Family Centre is calling on Parliament to pass the proposed Child Protection Bill, saying stronger laws are needed to hold people who abuse children accountable. Every day at the REACH Family Centre, Mansen Roy and Salokie Narfi work alongside children experiencing challenges no child should face. Some are struggling with overwhelming stress. Others are navigating violence at home, bullying, online harm and the fear of speaking out. For Narfi, a counsellor and group work practitioner for children and adolescents, the hardest part is seeing how many suffer in silence. “Children want to come for help, but they are scared of the consequences,” she says. “Some are afraid their parents will find out. Others are afraid nobody will believe them.” Using drawing, play therapy and other child-friendly approaches, Narfi helps children express emotions they cannot find the words for. She remembers one child who repeatedly blacked out at school. “Through counselling, the child understood the emotional pain carried,” she says. “The mother also received counselling. Today that child is brighter, more confident and looking forward to the future.” But not every story has such a hopeful ending. Roy, REACH’s Acting Executive Director, says many of the challenges children face are made worse by gaps in protection and understanding. “Violence against children remains one of the biggest issues,” he says. “We should teach, guide and love children,” he says. “Wrong treatment can create trauma that children carry for their whole lives, like a scar that never goes away.” Against this backdrop, REACH is pushing for the proposed Child Protection Bill to reach Parliament and become law. Both Roy and Narfi say the legislation would strengthen their work by creating a clearer approach to responding when children are at risk of serious harm, including sexual abuse. It would also help place children’s wellbeing at the centre of decision-making. “This Bill will support our work in the field,” Mansen says. “The justice system punishes perpetrators, but what about the survivors? Children also need healing, psychological support and protection to move forward into the future.” Narfi says the law would also ensure serious cases of abuse are recognised early and responded to properly. “Children are the future of the country,” she says. “If this Bill passes, we can build a stronger Vanuatu with children who are supported, protected and able to become the future leaders of our nation.” REACH is one of the few organisations in Vanuatu providing holistic support to entire families, working with mothers, fathers and children together because lasting change begins at home. Yet the demand for counselling and mental health support continues to grow, while resources remain limited. Roy believes passing the Child Protection Bill is no longer simply a legal decision – it is a moral one. “Child protection affects everyone because every one of us was once a child,” he says. For the children who are too frightened to speak, and for those still carrying invisible scars, the time to act is now. SOURCE: VANUATU DAILY POST

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Man remanded over alleged sexual assault of four-year-old girl August 13, 2026
A man from Tanna has been remanded in custody after being charged over the alleged sexual assault of a four-year-old girl at Salili on Efate last week. The accused, identified in a remand warrant as Simeon Tom Yatika, appeared before the Port Vila Magistrates’ Court on 11 August 2026. He is charged with unlawful sexual intercourse, contrary to section 97(1) of the Penal Code [CAP 135]. The prosecution applied for the accused to be held in custody, and the court granted the application. The warrant directs the officer in charge of the Correctional Centre to keep Yatika in custody until his next appearance on 25 August 2026 at 9am. A source close to the Magistrates’ Court said the court was informed that the alleged victim suffered injuries and experienced difficulty using the toilet after the incident. The court also reportedly heard that the accused had been receiving mental health care but had not attended medical appointments for some time. The circumstances surrounding that information remain matters for the court and relevant medical professionals to consider. The allegations have not been tested at trial. The accused has not been convicted and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The case has caused concern and renewed public frustration over the protection of children and the handling of sexual offence cases in Vanuatu. Many members of the public are expected to question whether vulnerable children are receiving adequate protection, medical care and support after alleged abuse. The case also comes amid wider criticism from women’s groups over the treatment of child sex offenders and calls for stronger safeguards in decisions involving pardons and accountability. Women’s groups have recently urged the Government to review the presidential pardon process following the pardoning of men convicted of sexually abusing children. Community members have called for the justice system to respond firmly to allegations involving children, while also stressing the importance of allowing the courts to assess the evidence fairly and independently. Under Vanuatu law, sexual intercourse with a child under 13 is a serious criminal offence, with the law providing a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The prosecution must nevertheless prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt before a conviction can be entered. The matter remains before the Port Vila Magistrates’ Court. The child’s identity has been withheld to protect her privacy. SOURCE: VANUATU DAILY POST

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Cervical cancer preventable, yet a leading cause of death among Vanuatu women August 12, 2026
Minister of Health Robert Bohn said cervical cancer remains one of the leading causes of death among women in Vanuatu, yet it is entirely preventable through vaccination, screening and early treatment. Speaking at the official launch of the Vanuatu National Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy 2026–2035 yesterday, Minister Bohn said access to these highly effective prevention measures had previously been limited or unavailable in Vanuatu. As a result, women were often diagnosed at advanced stages of the disease, when treatment options were limited and survival rates were lower. Minister Bohn said the launch reaffirmed a collective commitment to ensuring women and girls have access to prevention, screening and treatment services, with their health, dignity and future at the centre of the national effort. “The Vanuatu Strategy aligns with the World Health Organization’s Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem and its 90-70-90 coverage targets: 90 per cent of girls fully vaccinated with HPV by age 15; 70 per cent of women screened with an HPV test or other high-performance test by ages 35 and 45; and 90 per cent of women with cervical pre-cancer treated and women with invasive cancer appropriately managed,” he said. The Minister of Health said the Government of Vanuatu, through this strategy, is reaffirming its commitment to achieving these goals by 2035. Mr. Bohn said Vanuatu now has accessible, culturally appropriate and scalable approaches to prevention, and together the country can make a difference for women and families across the country. “The country has already made significant progress on this pathway, and today I would like to acknowledge the persistence, advocacy and hard work of health and community workers to reduce the preventable burden, incidence, illness and death caused by cervical cancer,” he said. “An opportunistic screening programme has existed since 2008, with national Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-based screening implemented in 2022, and close to 20,000 women screened to date. The hard work of the Vanuatu Ministry of Health, the Vanuatu Family Health Association and the Ikkana Cancer Society has meant that access to screening has been made available across all provinces, with over 3,500 women receiving treatment.” Mr. Bohn said Vanuatu is also protecting girls from cervical cancer through HPV vaccination, with the national HPV vaccination programme beginning in 2023 and 16,412 girls vaccinated to date. He said this ensures that today’s girls grow up protected, empowered and free from a disease that previously often arrived too late for treatment. “With continued awareness and coordinated delivery strategies, communities learn that the HPV vaccine protects their children and they therefore want their children to be vaccinated,” he said. “As we endorse this document, we acknowledge the journey of women and families affected, the conscientious efforts of health and community workers to improve health outcomes and the valued collaboration of international partners which strengthens our progress. “The Strategy presents a roadmap to strengthen and sustain current efforts, prioritising primary health care, public health approaches and people-centred service delivery tailored to the Vanuatu context.” Minister Bohn said sustained progress would require long-term, sustainable financing and continued coordinated efforts across sectors and disciplines to ensure Vanuatu remains on the path to eliminating cervical cancer. He said the Government of Vanuatu is committed to ensuring activities are adequately coordinated, funded and maintained over time. “Government commits to ensuring that no woman is left unseen, no girl unprotected, and no life lost to a preventable disease,” he said. The senior consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology, medical lead for the cervical cancer screening programme and chairperson of the development of the cervical cancer elimination strategy, Dr Boniface Damutalau, said the document launched yesterday provides a roadmap for combating cervical cancer. He said cervical cancer screening began in 2022 using new technologies to detect pre-cancerous lesions, and the launch of the strategy provides guidance for screening, vaccination, treatment and sustainability of the programme through to 2035. “It’s a document that helps us with a roadmap of how we do our screening, our vaccination, our treatment of pre-cancerous lesions, and also it will help us with the sustainability of the programme for the next 10 to 15 years,” he said. Dr Damutalau said available data shows around 18 per cent of women have HPV infection, although he believes the figure could be higher because the hospital continues to see two or three new cervical cancer cases each month. He explained that the best way to prevent cervical cancer is through immunisation of young girls aged around 9 to 14 years and regular screening. Dr Damutalau said screening is the only way to detect cervical cancer early, allowing treatment to begin before the disease progresses. He said Vanuatu can currently treat stage 1 cervical cancer locally, while women with more advanced stages must travel overseas for further treatment. “There are a lot of challenges. I think the biggest ones that we encounter are that Vanuatu is very sparse, with different islands, so there is a lot of geography we have to go through, and human resources are also one of the important things that we combat every day,” he said. “Human resources across ministries are not enough, but we always try to reach as far as where women live, from remote places in the north down to the south.” Dr Damutalau acknowledged the efforts made by women who come forward to clinics for screening. He said there are currently two clinics providing services, one in Port Vila and one in Luganville. Cervical cancer is caused by HPV, and once a woman becomes infected, the virus can change cells on the cervix, causing them to become cancerous. Dr Damutalau said most HPV infections clear naturally, but some remain and can increase the risk of cervical cancer. He said about 90 per cent of cervical cancers are linked to HPV, which is why vaccination and early screening are important. SOURCE: VANUATU DAILY POST

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More boys than girls drop out of school August 12, 2026
More boys than girls are dropping out of secondary schools in Vanuatu, with TORBA Province recording the highest dropout rate. Boys are repeating grades more than girls at both primary and secondary levels across all provinces, and TORBA Province again has the highest repetition rate. These findings were conveyed by the Director of Policy and Planning at the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), John Gideon, in his presentation to set the tone for discussions at the National Education Forum in Port Vila. He said more boys are leaving school for reasons beyond the classroom, such as the cost of education, distance to school and boarding challenges. In 2016, Vanuatu came up with a policy requiring children to start formal primary school at age 6. Director Gideon revealed that the net enrolment rate has been declining since 2023, with girls recording a higher rate while boys’ participation remains lower. Girls also recorded higher gross enrolment rates than boys at every level. Director Gideon also mentioned that the education system is not retaining students, especially at the secondary level. He said about 41 out of every 100 children who start Year 1 remain in school by Year 6, and only about 5 out of every 100 continue through to Year 13. Director Gideon highlighted that the number of early childhood centres has decreased since 2022, primary schools have remained stable, while secondary schools have grown the most, with 67 new schools established since 2015. “There are over 5,400 teachers, but they are not where the students are,” he said. SHEFA, TAFEA and SANMA have the most senior secondary schools, while TORBA faces a severe shortage of junior secondary teachers. Director Gideon encouraged participants at the forum to examine what the data reveals about boys’ engagement in the education system, how to increase enrolment in early childhood and the relationship between enrolment and student progress. Currently, 104,510 students are enrolled across more than 1,000 registered schools in Vanuatu. However, Director General Cherol Ala pointed out that not all children are in school, highlighting the need to improve access, enrolment and participation. While literacy and numeracy outcomes continue to decline, she said monitoring of the nationwide Curriculum Improvement Program (CIP), launched last year, is showing improved outcomes in student learning. Other challenges she mentioned include student and teacher attendance, high dropout rates, limited access to formal training and qualifications, school infrastructure, access to schools and rolling out internet connectivity. She reminded everyone about the ministry’s mission to provide young people with lifelong skills, values and confidence to become self-reliant and contribute to development. Throughout the four-day National Education Forum, government leaders, educators and partners have discussed what has not worked and what needs to be done to improve education outcomes. The forum ends today. SOURCE: VANUATU DAILY POST

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Vanuatu’s education crisis a ‘national disaster’ – Pikinini Playtime CEO August 12, 2026
Pikinini Playtime founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tony Batten has described Vanuatu’s education situation as a “national disaster”, warning that poor literacy outcomes among children could affect the country’s future development. Speaking during an interview on Kava Mo Kajap, Mr. Batten said reports that around 70 per cent of children are unable to read and write at the expected level should be treated as a serious national concern. “I think it is a national disaster, like a hurricane or an earthquake,” Mr. Batten said. He said Vanuatu’s greatest resource is not its land or natural resources, but its people, and education is the foundation needed to develop that human resource. “Human resources are the number one resource for Vanuatu,” he said. Mr. Batten said countries that have successfully moved from being less developed to more advanced economies have done so by investing heavily in education and building a skilled population. However, he said Vanuatu’s current education results remain a major concern despite the country spending a significant amount of its national budget on education. “Vanuatu gives a lot of money per capita into education, but the results are still among the lowest in the Pacific,” he said. The Pikinini Playtime founder said the challenge is not only about funding but about how the education system delivers results. He questioned why many students continue to leave school without basic reading and writing skills despite years spent in classrooms. Mr. Batten said the impact of poor education outcomes can also be seen in the country’s workforce, where businesses often recruit skilled workers from overseas to fill positions. “We bring people from the Philippines and other countries to do accounting, bookkeeping, management, building and supervisory work, but many ni-Vanuatu are not able to take those opportunities because they do not have the basic education,” he said. He said the literacy issue must be addressed early because children who fail to develop strong reading skills in their early years often struggle throughout their education journey. Mr. Batten also raised concerns about the value placed on education within the system. He said teacher absenteeism, weak accountability and a lack of support for educators contribute to children losing confidence in learning. “When children see that school is not important, they begin to believe they don’t need school,” he said. Mr. Batten acknowledged that many teachers are working under difficult conditions but said the system needs stronger support, training and leadership to improve outcomes. He believes improving education requires everyone involved — government, schools, teachers, principals and parents — to work together. “Children are smart. They have the ability. But they need the right support and the right opportunities,” he said. Mr. Batten said addressing literacy must become a national priority because the future of Vanuatu depends on the quality of education provided to today’s children. SOURCE: VANUATU DAILY POST

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