Fiji leaders make island nation more disaster resilient through education

When Cyclone Winston slammed into the island nation of Fiji in February 2016, the storm claimed dozens of lives, left tens of thousands homeless and crippled an extensive amount of critical infrastructure.

Fijian Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, speaking to Fiji’s Parliament three years later, on August 7, 2019, reflected on Winston’s fury and the need for action as Fiji faces the threat of more such disasters.

“That is the grave situation in which we find ourselves through no fault of our own,” he said, “and why this government puts such a strong emphasis on the climate issue.”

Fijian leaders have made making the country more disaster resilient a top priority. They view educating Fijian professionals in disaster resilience project management as a key step in this direction. Partnerships between government, local universities and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are succeeding in reaching such education goals, with several courses launched in 2018 and 2019.

Funding for the courses comes from USAID’s Ready Project, set up to promote resilience in 12 Pacific island countries in the face of natural disasters including climate events, the agency reported.

A five-month course designed to “help leaders strengthen their management skills to design and implement disaster resilience projects” was announced by the U.S. Embassy in Fiji on September 16, 2019, as part of a partnership between the University of the South Pacific and USAID’s Ready Project. Sixty-five Fijians employed by government ministries and public utilities, as well as local engineering firms and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), are taking the course, the embassy added. The four units of instruction and activities are divided between classroom and online study.

A short project-management training workshop funded by Ready Project and also aimed at boosting local disaster resilience capabilities was held a month earlier, starting August 8, 2019, in partnership with the Fijian Ministry of Civil Service.

Susan Kiran, Fiji’s permanent secretary for the Ministry of Civil Service, pictured speaking at the launch, praised the five-day “Training on Climate Adaptation Project Preparation”for government officials, academics and leaders of NGOs and development banks.

“The Fijian government is committed to developing diverse skill sets among civil servants that can be quickly adapted to new projects and priorities,” she said. “Building capacity through learning and development across civil service is a key role of the Ministry of Civil Service. This comprehensive training on project proposals is a testament to such important partnership.”

In addition to the Ready Project courses, USAID funded a project management course in Fiji under its Institutional Strengthening in Pacific Island Countries to Adapt to Climate Change (ISACC) program, offered in the fall of 2018. The intensive four-month course was geared toward enabling 30 participants to manage diverse projects in such areas as forestry, education, environment, health, climate and immigration.

When Typhoon Winston hit Fiji, USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) was quick to help, working with partners in the Red Cross and United Nations to assess storm damage and coordinate aid. OFDA’s cash contribution at the time totaled about U.S. $600,000, reported USAID.

The new project management courses are aimed to enable Fiji’s leaders to operate with greater independence, “to access and manage international adaptation funds,” explained Embassy Charge d’Affaires Michael Goldman, by strengthening cooperation, generating new ideas, practical tools and acquiring project management methodology.

“Our hope is that in the future, local private sector and civil society, with support from the government, will be able to take the lead in managing current and upcoming investments to help achieve our shared goal of a more prosperous and resilient future for the people of Fiji,” Goldman said.

Tom Abke is a FORUM contributor reporting from Singapore.