Vanuatu Cyclone Emergency

Two enormous category four back-to-back cyclones AND a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in just a few days. There’s never been anything like this in Vanuatu. A state of emergency’s been declared, with widespread destruction of roads, bridges, communication, houses, health facilities, schools, water sources and crops.  

“Vanuatu is used to natural hazards, but I think this is the first time it has had two cyclones back-to-back,”  - UNICEF’s Chief of Vanuatu Field Office, Eric Durpaire. 

The massive impact’s been felt across the whole country with kids in Tafea and Shefa provinces bearing the brunt of the emergency. Almost half the population and 1 in every 2 children have been affected and need our help urgently. Please make a donation today and help us urgently scale up our life-saving response. 

7-year-old Marie is one of the almost 58,000 Ni-Vanuatu children in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. She and her parents are taking shelter at an evacuation centre after their house was completely destroyed.  

“On the night when the Cyclone Kevin started, the wind was big and scary. I looked outside and could see the trees moving and iron roofing from other houses flying in the wind. It was very scary.”

WHAT’S UNICEF BEEN DOING IN VANUATU? 

Immediately after the cyclones, UNICEF was on the ground to support the Government of Vanuatu’s humanitarian response for affected kids and families. UNICEF and partners quickly delivered: 

We’ve been in Vanuatu since the 1980’s and our warehouse in Port Vila was already fully stocked with emergency supplies in preparation for cyclone season. More critical deliveries have since arrived from our Suva warehouse in Fiji. However, the scale of devastation across Vanuatu is staggering. We desperately need donations to scale-up our emergency response and save lives. 

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN NEXT? 

Children and families in Vanuatu are now threatened by a critical lack of clean water, poor sanitation, inadequate shelter and declining nutrition. Unsafe water not only becomes an immediate health risk, but also increases the likelihood of the spread of water-borne diseases and worsening nutrition issues. 

The kids of Vanuatu urgently need: clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) kits, primary healthcare including first aid, and female hygiene kits. In the short-term, water systems and networks will need to be checked and restored and schools reopened wherever possible.  Psychosocial support and other child protection services need to be established as quickly as possible to allow Ni-Vanuatu kids to regain some sense of normalcy.  

UNICEF has seven strategically located warehouses located throughout the Pacific region, which enables us to provide rapid support to communities affected by emergencies. The road to recovery will be long, but UNICEF will always be there for the kids of Vanuatu. Whatever it takes. Please make a donation today and help us continue to deliver our emergency supplies.