Comments

Thanks Chris for the article and the attached paper. I would also agree with the previous comment that the issue of suggesting that countries in the Pacific increase social expenditures makes sense but does not really reflect the tight levels of liquidity that many countries are facing since borders have closed and revenues from exports and tourism and related activities have fallen. My own experience in the Solomon Islands and their own Stimulus Package indicate that the Government is trying to balance short-term support with longer-term programmes focused on infrastructure and food security programmes but taking money from one sector to support another has its own problems. The other matter is that Pacific island countries have few mechanisms to directly provide funds to individuals and communities. In the Solomon Islands, the one way the Government has supported households is by allowing some to access their national provident fund accounts (like some have done after natural disasters). However, giving cash directly does not guarantee it is spent and in time of uncertainty (like now) people are just as likely to keep these funds aside as precautionary savings. The other issue (quickly) is that giving elected officials funds directly should be avoided as they are just as likely to be used for a range of non-productive activities and allocated to specific groups (such as political supporters) and not allocated on a needs basis.

The Seasonal Worker Program is yet to meet the benchmark that underlies its purpose and meaning as defined within the bilateral and multilateral boundaries. An example is the pay rate set within the binding arrangements are yet to be foreseen. I also strongly believe the Australian or New Zealand Government should assist with the Re-integration Program and help workers with financial literacy to sustain their earning to more productive use. Training Programs should be linked to make workers leave the SW Scheme and sustain life. I have seen workers coming for more than three years. The Employers have been selective to workers however Government needs to look at this from a wider perspective and intervene with policies to have new workers recruited after every three years. This may help many to participate and eradicate poverty and foster the duty of care.

Dear Liz, interesting to read your insights from the other side of the world. Evidently, the issue is one of global proportions. While it has become easier in recent years to handle large amounts of data and automate data presentation (e.g. on dashboards), it is sometimes forgotten that i) someone needs to collect the data and ii) preparing a nice graph should not be the end of the procedure but the beginning of a process of interpretation and translation into public health action.

I hear your concerns because of the other disease burdens in the South Pacific, like diabetes and obesity. But we're talking two years at least IF* a vaccine can be produced. None of the islands can last that long. Never mind the economy, just family visits. Being apart that long is going to lead to nationwide depression (not just economic). We have to find a compromise. And we can safely by having airports and isolated resorts as quarantined areas. This is much harder in some islands. But it would be easy for Fiji because it has two major airports, a large main island with significant tourism infrastructure and many island resorts that are far from population centres.

You make good points. While the pandemic is dangerous so are the measures we're taking against it that we know will last at least two years. We can't stay stuck in this initial phase (with an ongoing curfew in Fiji, for example). You mention the national airline but all the tourist industry and the industries that serve it are going through the same effects and restarting will be increasingly difficult. Fiji can't wait till the end of the year to hear from ANZ. They can open now safely around Nadi and keep Suva as another bubble for later.

The USG isn't banning flights to Fiji. It's the other way around. And the Fijian government is wary to open up because then they'd not be allowed into the ANZ bubble later. My idea is to have two bubbles so Fiji can open now to the rest of the world (and you can go in August) and then (when and if ANZ let's Fiji in) they can have a second bubble around Suva.

Hello from Samoa....it's great to be free of the virus during this entire time and able to move around and live somewhat normally within our borders.....but, we watch sadly thousands in other countries grieving for their loved ones dying of this horrible disease....tear jerking. Of course, the economy is really hurting with the complete blockade of tourists, but....at least we are safe for the moment....if the virus were to hit Samoa....OMG....due to the high number of diabetic people; even the entire government could be wiped out so fast.....not to mention that we have only a very few ventilators and isolation units in hospital....mildly put...it would be complete devastation...so....I hope, even though it's not easy.....that we can hold off for allowing tourists to enter, thus keeping Samoa virus free until a vaccine can be introduced....

It'd be difficult for the PNG government, currently fiscally strapped, to transfer cash to poor households. It appears highly likely that poverty would increase more than the conservative 5% consumption contraction estimate. That, however, doesn't cover the informal economy which experienced less of a contraction than did the formal economy. It'd be interesting to also see the impacts on poverty of different lock-down policies, and length of time they were imposed.

Went through the process of getting a drivers licence in Vanuatu in 2012, quite a slow bureaucratic process involving multiple offices but I got through it with a Vanuatu drivers licence at the end. Started the process in Timor-Leste in 2015, went to one chaotic office, told that the licence issuing function had moved out of Dili to an office in Hera, went out there, they were not very clear about the process, I gave up, kept driving on my Australian licence till the end of my stay. Feel sorry for all the Timorese who have to go through all these bureaucratic struggles on a regular basis.

Governments need to work together urgently to open the borders of Australia/NZ/Fiji and surrounding Pacific Island nations. There has been a huge overreaction to Coronavirus. Just how long can governments keep us separated from our families? Finally, as Fiji Airways has sacked most of its cabin crew-I am interested to see how they are going to put planes back in the sky. Terminated cabin crew-even if invited back to their flying roles-will mostly have run out of currency in Emergency Procedures. Standard service and emergency procedure training for new recruits -once accepted .-takes a minimum of six weeks.! And it is very expensive to train cabin crew. Our “leaders” (George Orwell’s 1984 comes to mind yet again) need to be in the same ballpark. Let us free!! By all means take temperatures and ensure travellers can be contacted! Enough is enough.

Too much focus on data collection can sometimes be to the detriment of actual service delivery in fragile health systems. In Nigeria, donors come with their own data tools and incentivize health workers to fill them to the detriment of the National tools. The cost of printing and dispatching mountains of paper tools to the thousands of health facilities is not often discussed. Because of cost, several health facilities have no tools with which to report to the national Health Management Information system. Apart from the greed for more data, let us also mention the incompetence/inexperience of those who respond to this hunger by designing, heavy, complicated instruments. An instrument is not just a list of questions...it’s meant to be a tool and can only be as good as the operator's capacity to understand and use it. As you rightly pointed out, our health workers are under-skilled, under-equipped and overworked. The data from the NHMIS reflects this..

Wow... Thanks for writing commerating one of the best, and honest public servants of our time. I like that you gave credit to his patriotism for the country through his work. Thank you.