New off-road vehicles to accelerate malaria elimination in Vanuatu Format Port Vila, Vanuatu – Two new Land Cruiser pick-up trucks and four quad-bikes were officially handed over today to the Vanuatu Ministry of Health by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as part of ongoing efforts to accelerate towards malaria elimination in Vanuatu and enhance coverage of life-saving health services across the country. The Land Cruisers will be used on the islands of Santo in Sanma province, and Malekula in Malampa province – the two largest land masses in Vanuatu – for malaria case investigation, surveillance and timely reporting. While the quad-bikes will be used for malaria case investigation and supervisory visits in Tafea, Malampa and Sanma. Deployment of teams for rapid investigation and response is essential to ensure every last case is reached and treated to halt all transmission and achieve malaria elimination.
QRCS backs coronavirus control efforts in 6 nations 10 May 2021 - 8:20 The Peninsula Doha: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has recently made remarkable progress on its project to support coronavirus control efforts in 22 countries. At a total cost of $233,670, many activities were done to reduce the spread of the pandemic in Ethiopia, El Salvador, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Vanuatu, and Mauritania. In Ethiopia, multi-sector aid was delivered in Gambella and Oromia Regions. The activities included training community volunteers to carry out awareness campaigns to vulnerable communities, providing personal protective equipment (PPE) for volunteers and community to reduce the virus dissemination, launching community awareness campaigns about COVID-19 causes, symptoms, and how to prevent it and training health professionals at isolation centers and providing them with hygiene and nonmedical kits.
Pacific nations brace for first major cyclones of the season Format 16 Dec 2020 Suva, 16 December 2020 – Two tropical cyclones have formed in the Pacific, signaling the beginning of what is forecast to be a busy season for emergency responders across the region. Tropical Cyclone Yasa has been building strength between Fiji and Vanuatu and is tracking towards Fiji as a severe category 5 storm. Communities in Tonga have also been on high alert for Tropical Cyclone Zazu, which passed over the country bringing strong winds and heavy rain. The sudden simultaneous storms reinforce predictions that tropical cyclones will be more frequent and there is more risk of floods this season due to the changing climate and La Niña weather conditions.