SPC Geoscience Division

Almost 52% of nearly 10 million people living in the Pacific island countries continue to face threats from unsafe drinking water resulting from water-borne diseases.

Unsafe drinking water has been the primary cause for the 2800 deaths per year (most our children under the age of 5) from diarrhoea and related illnesses, and poor sanitation and hygiene are major contributing factors.

Additionally periods of drought that is currently being experienced in many island countries have aggravated the situation.SOPAC, working with the World Health Organization has introduced a plan into the region that has shown positive results in combating water carrying diseases.

“It’s no miracle drug, but a common sense approach to educate people throughout the region of how to determine if their drinking water is safe, how to clean it, and protect it so that that there is no danger that the water can continue to cause illness,” said SOPAC Director, Dr Russell Howorth.

At the August launch in Suva of the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Projects Portal for Asia and the Pacific, host of the new portal, Mr Loy Rego, Deputy Executive Director of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in Bangkok, Thailand, emphasised in his opening address that, “The success of the system depends upon the usage by all partners for ongoing and proposed DRR initiatives, with regular input and update of project information.”

Launched at the fifth Pacific Disaster Risk Management Partnership Network meeting, this requirement for the portal’s success is being met. Of the 300-plus project information records in the DRR Projects Portal, more than 170 relate to the Pacific, and cover initiatives and activities of the Pacific Disaster Risk Management Partnership Network.