Regional initiatives

Fisheries are vital to the economies, livelihoods, food security, and social and cultural well-being of many Pacific countries, and can be a crucial source of government revenue.

Just over half of the world’s tuna supply comes from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) area. The tuna, valued at US$6.1 billion in 2023, is sourced mostly from the exclusive economic zones of Pacific countries and territories. It is the world’s largest, most economically valuable, and most biologically sustainable tuna fishery.

Through its International Development Cooperation (IDC), New Zealand supports the management and development of sustainable fisheries for the benefit of Pacific countries, and the region. This support contributes to building economic resilience through fisheries in Pacific countries.

Through its IDC, New Zealand’s seeks to:

• Improve the sustainable management of coastal and oceanic fisheries.
• Improve the economic returns from fisheries.
• Support robust science for sound decision making, including climate science.
• Reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
• Build capacity and capability.
• Support regional agencies to provide technical support to members.

As many of these issues are interrelated and transboundary, they benefit from regional approaches.

Approximately half of New Zealand’s IDC for Pacific fisheries  goes to regional agencies with whom we have longstanding and trusted relationships – notably the Forum Fisheries Agency and the Pacific Community.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers, and chronic respiratory disease. These diseases are responsible for approximately 75% of deaths in the Pacific.They end lives prematurely, severely affect the quality of life for many more and impose large yet preventable costs on country budgets that are already stretched.

We prioritise investments in evidence based preventive and primary care approaches that benefit the entire population. 

Our support focuses on:

• Tobacco control through legislation and policies, and community based interventions
• Primary care capability to detect and manage NCDs and their risk factors
• Data collection on NCDs through the MANA dashboard and STEPS surveys
• Building capacity for policy development  to address NCDs and their risk factors, and for monitoring and evaluation of programmes and interventions

Promoting sexual and reproductive health

Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are essential for improving the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities and for sustainable development. There are significant SRHR challenges in the region including:

• high levels of unmet need for contraception,
• high levels of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and
• high adolescent pregnancy rates which prevent girls from attending school and participating in the workforce. 

Our support aims to increase access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services, with a focus on family planning, strengthening country health systems, and grassroots advocacy efforts.

Improving child health and nutrition

The first 1,000 days of life is a critical period where preventable causes of illness and mortality can be addressed. Our support delivers essential childhood immunisation and nutrition interventions to improve childhood health outcomes, including reducing neonatal mortality and the prevalence of stunting. These interventions can promote children’s cognitive development, enhance their learning ability, and in the long-term, lead to improved health, social and economic outcomes.

Preventing and controlling communicable diseases

Communicable diseases pose a health burden in the Pacific, and a risk for outbreaks in New Zealand. By reducing or eliminating transmission in our partner countries, the risk to the entire region is lessened.

Our support looks to:

• Enable immunisation against key communicable diseases
• Strengthen early detection and management of disease outbreaks through surveillance, risk assessment and response, laboratory strengthening, infection prevention and control and risk communication
• Strengthen vector control interventions
• Strengthen transnational and regional efforts to address spread of communicable diseases.

Health security

Communicable diseases continue to pose a health burden in Pacific countries with risks for outbreaks to spread within the region.

By building public health preparedness and response capabilities, and preventing communicable diseases and reducing transmission, regional health security is strengthened.

Our support looks to:

• Enable immunisation against vaccine preventable diseases
• Strengthen early detection and management of disease outbreaks through surveillance, risk assessment and response, laboratory strengthening, infection prevention and control and risk communication. 

Education

Trilateral Support for Education Quality and Assessment in the Pacific

Pacific governments have made significant progress in improving access and participation for their students. Their focus is now on improving the quality of education provision so that young people are equipped with the skills they need to succeed in life and work.

The Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP) at the Pacific Community (SPC) is a valued and respected partner working across the Pacific region to raise the quality of education. As the key technical agency in the region for education, EQAP supports the development of assessment practice, curriculum and teacher standards, and the effective use of data across the Pacific.

We are working with Australia to jointly provide broad-based support for EQAP and their work.

We have previously worked with EQAP to deliver successful projects but this new approach provides greater flexibility, better donor alignment and a more sustainable way of delivering services. EQAP is able to engage in longer-term planning to support Pacific countries, as well as to deliver significant regional initiatives like the Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment

Good governance

Strengthening Pacific judiciaries

An accessible, impartial and effective law and justice system is vital to an open and fair society. We support a multi-country initiative to strengthen the professional competence of Pacific judges and court officers, and the efficiency of Pacific court systems. This will help to reduce delays in cases being heard, and improve access to justice and judicial independence in the Pacific.

Supporting accountable decision making

New Zealand is working with five Pacific parliaments to provide training and support to MPs and parliamentary secretariats to make the parliamentary process more accountable, inclusive, and effective. Focus areas include strengthening public accounts committees; providing support with the budget process; and reforming parliamentary standing orders to make them more efficient.

Supporting the Pacific to tackle money laundering

Adequate compliance with global anti-money laundering standards can have a significant impact on a country’s economic outlook. We’re supporting the Pacific to improve compliance with, and implementation of, anti-money laundering regulations, to protect and promote confidence in Pacific economies, particularly in areas such as trade and banking.