Introduction by Croakey: Welcome to the official launch of a new monthly column at Croakey, Pacific Islands focus!
Isabelle Zhu-Maguire, PhD candidate at the Coral Bell School of Asia and Pacific Affairs, Department of International Relations within the Australian National University, will be providing an update on public health and related matters in the Pacific Island’s region.
This month, Zhu-Maguire takes a deep-dive into politics and policy in the region, including impacts from the first two weeks of Trump’s regime, and concerns about increasing whooping cough cases in several Pacific Island nations.
The quotable?
Good global leaders are also responsible world statesmen. They take responsibility not just for their own countries, but also for the planet.”
Isabelle Zhu-Maguire writes:
The Pacific Islands, whether you consider them Australia’s ‘family members’ or important geostrategic allies, are now almost consistently in the headlines of Australian media.
However, despite the deep, rich and nuanced challenges, issues and solutions that arise across the region – which are often under-reported – the news that makes it to the front page are often of the latest security agreement.
Particularly when it comes to health, the Pacific Islands face challenges of poverty, urbanisation, healthcare facilities being under-resourced, isolation, and climate change. But, within these multi-layered challenges, Pacific Islanders are constantly innovating and increasingly connecting with Indigenous ways of knowing and doing to create the solutions needed to ensure health within their communities.
To continue to highlight health in the Pacific, I have the great honour of writing a monthly ‘Pacific Islands focus’ column in 2025. This monthly column will include the public health stories coming from the Pacific Islands region in the hopes of expanding understanding of the region. I will also write on other topics such as domestic politics, geopolitics, security, weather and development to provide a holistic view of public health challenges in the region.
Last month, natural disasters and wild weather impacted much of the Pacific, whooping cough continues to be a concern in Samoa, the Fijian poisoning saga continues, and political shake-ups have been seen in many Pacific Island nations.
Natural disasters, wild weather and recovery
January saw flash flooding in Fiji, shutting down much of Nadi in the country’s west. Four evacuation centres were established in December with almost 300 people taking shelter. Police have also been restricting movement to prevent people from travelling on flooded roads. Cyclone warnings were also issued in Niue and Tonga.
January is often marred by wild weather in the Pacific. This January was no different with Fiji’s Meteorological Service estimating that January will be the peak of the 2024-2025 cyclone season. This season is a La Nina, meaning there will be a cooling of the ocean, which will likely create increased weather activity in parts of Melanesia.
Recovery efforts also continue after the deadly earthquake in Vanuatu late last year. The 7.3 magnitude earthquake killed at least 14 people and damaged extensive amounts of infrastructure. Estimated recovery costs stand at 29 billion vatu (approximately $378 million AUD).
In January, international donors continued to provide funds to Vanuatu for the rebuild. On 11 January, Australia – who had provided a bulk of the initial relief resources – announced a further AUD $10 million in funding for rebuilding essential infrastructure including healthcare facilities. China also provided $1 million US dollars for emergency relief and recovery.
Particularly important for the health of ni-Vanuatu, the UK has given $500,000 USD to UNICEF Pacific to support children’s health and sanitation.
Concerningly, RNZ Pacific reported that police have responded to 50 assaults against women in the aftermath of the earthquake, including cases of attempted rape and physical violence.
Whooping cough concerns continue in Samoa
As I wrote in my coverage of Pacific health news in November 2024, Aotearoa/New Zealand declared whooping cough an epidemic that month, with 263 cases detected in only four weeks. Around the same time, Samoa had reported a case of whooping cough. The Samoa Ministry of Health cited grave concerns as vaccination rates in the country were severely low, with vaccines for people over seven years old not yet available.
This situation has now worsened in Samoa with 363 cases reported as of 20 January. However, the Samoan Ministry of Health said that only 17 of these cases have been confirmed, with four of the confirmed cases having incomplete vaccination.
Almost forty percent of all cases have required hospital care and almost a third of all cases were in babies under 12 months old. Nearly all (99 percent) of the cases have been on the island of Upolu, Samoa’s most populous island and home to the Nation’s capital, Apia.
Likely in response to this crisis, Aotearoa/New Zealand has announced a 4.1 million tala ($1.4 million USD) investment into Samoa’s healthcare over five years.
There has been a history of anti-vax sentiment in Samoa. In 2019, Robert F Kennedy Jr, President Trump’s pick for leading the US Department of Health and Human Services, went to Samoa, meeting with government officials and anti-vaccine influencers.
Health experts in the country have claimed that this visit drove anti-vax sentiment in Samoa and it has been linked to an outbreak of measles, which killed 83 people and that occurred only four months after RFK Jr’s visit to the island.
Fiji poisoning investigation continues
In early December 2024, seven people, including four Australians, who were drinking cocktails at the five-star Warwick Resort in the Coral Coast region, were victims of poisoning. All were eventually taken to Lautoka Hospital, stabilised, and since recovered.
There is still no clear answer to what happened to the victims – investigation has continued through this month. Urine and blood samples were sent to Aotearoa/New Zealand for testing with equipment that is not available in Fiji. The ingredients and equipment used to make the cocktails have already been tested by Fijian police who were unable to find any illicit substances or methanol – used to poison tourists in Laos only a month prior to the Fijian incident.
These concerns have been taken incredibly seriously given how important tourism is to Fiji. Tourism contributes 40 percent of the Fijian economy and about one in eight Fijians are employed in the tourism industry.
Political shake-ups
January saw an unusually high number of political changes in the Pacific.
Vanuatu: In January 180,000 registered ni-Vanuatu went to the polls for a snap election. However, given the country is still recovering from the earthquake, many locals have been frustrated that the elections occurred. The president of the Port Vila Council of Women Jane Iatika told RNZ Pacific:
If they were thinking about the people they would have [postponed] the election and dealt with the disaster first… like right now if a mother goes and lines up to vote in the election – when they come back home what are they going to eat?”
Further frustration has emerged in Vanuatu as the only female incumbent parliamentarian, Julia King, lost her seat. This has left only one woman in the running for election – Vanuatu now face a possible return to an all-male parliament. King was elected in 2022 and was the first woman elected in Vanuatu in over a decade and only the sixth ever ni-Vanuatu female parliamentarian.
As per the constitution, the Vanuatu election results will be announced within two months.
Samoa: Samoa too has faced political uncertainty with Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa’s FAST party’s chairman and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, La’auli Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt, facing criminal charges of conspiracy and harassment. These charges have created a whirlwind of speculation and misinformation online, according to RNZ Pacific.
Prime Minister Mata’afa removed Schmidt from his portfolio but this decision was challenged by 13 Members of Parliament who Mata’afa subsequently removed. Mata’afa is now facing a potential vote of no confidence against her, this topic dividing Samoans, including those in diaspora communities.
Fiji: Finally, Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has reshuffled his cabinet, convincing six opposition members to join his ranks. Steven Ratuva, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, and Distinguished Professor and Director of the Macmillan Brown Center for Pacific Studies, told RNZ Pacific that he believes this change is to “rebrand” Rabuka’s image as he faces criticism for his handling of poverty, unemployment and crime saying:
For him (Rabuka), it’s probably a way of trying to make sure that new faces, new ideas and new strategies might somehow overshadow some of the very significant challenges the government has been facing.”
Security and policing
Some big security news that snuck in at the very end of 2024 was a new agreement between Australia and the Solomon Islands. This $190 million commitment from Australia aims to help the Solomon Islands grow the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force and build a new police training facility.
Commentators are making the obvious connection between this deal and the Solomon Islands 2022 security pact with China, which also stipulates assistance for the police force.
In January 2025, Richard Marles, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, travelled to the Solomon Islands. In a press conference in Honiara, he called the agreement a “dramatic change” in the relationship, citing the next step of this process would be signing a memorandum of understanding at an undisclosed time in the near future.
At the end of his speech, Marles discussed climate change, mentioning Australian engagement with Solomons’ counterparts at the UN’s 2024 climate conference, COP29. He said that Australia “will continue to partner with Solomon Islands on meeting the challenges presented by climate change”.
Marles also travelled to Kiribati on this trip, meeting with Vice President Teuea Toatu to discuss “Australia and Kiribati’s economic, development and strategic priorities, including maritime security” and open the new Australian High Commission Chancery in Tarawa. Marles also promised to deliver a second Guardian-class Patrol Boat to Kiribati, honouring an agreement made in 2023.
In January, Fiji announced that its military may soon be joining its police force on its “war on drugs”. This announcement comes after Fiji’s Police Force requested assistance, citing issues with technology, resources, and maintaining enough officers within the force.
Fiji’s Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs, Pio Tikoduadua told RNZ:
Deploying the military is a serious decision that must only be made as a last resort, and only in situations where civilian mechanisms have been fully utilized and found insufficient.”
This announcement follows several news stories from Fiji earlier in January including one where a police officer was charged with possessing illegal drugs. Another reported 18 people being arrested on several drugs charges all within the first five days of 2025, including a 16-year-old student and 58-year-old man.
Samoa too has been dealing with drug imports. RNZ Pacific reported that Samoa has been asking New Zealand police for assistance after 10 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (worth $2.5 million NZD) was found in a shipping container, from the United States, concealed in cereal-like packaging. In particular Samoan police have asked for more canine assistance as the country only has two trained dogs.
RNZ Pacific has also reported that the Cook Islands currently faces a shortage in policing staff. With a wage of $9.50 NZD an hour, the Cook Islands police has extremely low remuneration rates and is short about 40 staff members.
On President Trump
Like in most places in the world, there were mixed reactions in the Pacific to Donald Trump’s election. In November, Pacific heads of state largely congratulated Trump on his election.
In January, some more honest comments began to emerge.
LGBTQIA+ advocates from the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a Commonwealth of the United States, told RNZ Pacific they were concerned about Trump’s initiatives against diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. They explained how Trump’s declaration of “only two genders” will impact and further marginalise gender diverse people in US-freely associated states and territories like the North Mariana Islands.
One of the major concerns from the region is the presidency’s approach to climate change. For example, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape has called Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord “irresponsible”.
Marape said he believes that Trump has the right to pursue his ‘Put America First’ agenda but that “good global leaders are also responsible world statesmen. They take responsibility not just for their own countries, but also for the planet”.
Similarly, Palau’s president Surangel Whipps Jr has invited Trump to go snorkelling to see the impacts of climate change on the reefs of his archipelago country.
In early February, one of the other new major concerns about the Trump Presidency was the US freeze on foreign aid. I am certain this will be one of the major stories of my next column, in February.
Further reading from the region
Fiji’s HIV crisis is a regional challenge that demands a regional response
NZ’s ‘diplomatic tiff’ with Kiribati could push it closer to China, warns expert
Nauru and China take diplomatic relations ‘to new heights’ since Taiwan switch – Aingimea
Palau’s hi-tech mission to preserve Pacific’s oldest monuments
About the author
Isabelle Zhu-Maguire is a PhD candidate at the Coral Bell School of Asia and Pacific Affairs, Department of International Relations within the Australian National University. Her thesis investigates the ways in which Australia listens and responds to the climate advocacy of Pacific Island Nations.
She has conducted extensive research into the experiences of women in Afghanistan and their perspectives and realities living through conflict, oppression, and climate change.
Isabelle has also been advocate for greater youth inclusion within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Croakey thanks and acknowledges Isabelle Zhu-Maguire for providing this column as a probono service to our readers.
Bookmark this link for future editions of the Pacific Islands focus column.
