Our Work
in the Pacific
Home
Our Work
Our Work in the Pacific
For 50 years we’ve worked with our Pacific whānau doing everything we can for kids - so they can grow into the best version of themselves!
The Pacific Islands are our neighbours and it’s up to us to support them in making sure tamariki have the essentials for a happy and healthy childhood – like clean water, nutritious food and quality education.
These are some of the hardest-to-reach communities in the world that face unique challenges like extreme vulnerability to climate disasters and coastal erosion. Whether it’s reaching isolated villages with life-saving vaccines or providing off-grid communities access to clean water, we’ve created unique solutions to the major issues they face.
Our relationships with Governments, staff, communities and kids themselves drive the work that we do – from simple, sustainable projects to big-picture, national-level policy changes.
Thanks to people like you, we’ve been able to innovate and create long-lasting change for Pacific tamariki!
2.56
million
people gained access to clean drinking water since 2000
1.21
million
people gained access to basic sanitation services since 2000
$16
million
invested into the futures of Pacific kids through a groundbreaking partnership
A partnership for real change
This multi-year partnership is all about investing $16 million into making a huge impact for tamariki in five Pacific countries!
We’re working with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to strengthen the resilience of water systems and level-up early childhood education. Here’s some of the awesome work we’re already doing.
Kids need access to clean water for drinking and washing, no matter where they live. We’ve been building water and hygiene facilities in Kiribati, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu so that kids will always have clean water available, even during climate emergencies.
To give kids the best opportunity to reach their full potential, we’ve been working with Governments right down to community level to strengthen the education system in Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and Kiribati. We’re training teachers in culturally relevant and engaging material because every kid should feel a passion for learning!
Here’s a look at what this amazing partnership is doing for kids in the Pacific.
Timor-Leste
We’ve established 104 community-based pre-schools that are already benefiting almost 3,000 kids!
169 teachers have been trained in a play-based learning curriculum so tamariki can absorb basic numeracy and literacy while building their emotional and social skills.
Vanuatu
Only 29% of schools have access to clean water for drinking, and even less have handwashing facilities.
We’re building systems to provide safe water, and separate bathrooms for girls and boys, in 74 primary and secondary schools across Vanuatu!
Papua New Guinea
We’re strengthening pre-primary education in Papua New Guinea by training teachers in a new curriculum that will inspire 272 kids!
We’ll also be constructing water and hygiene facilities in 5 schools and 5 healthcare centres, helping 725 students stay hydrated and healthy.
Kiribati
In Kiribati, we're building facilities for clean water and toilets in 14 healthcare centres and 5 schools, to stop the spread of germs and make sure students always have safe water available.
We’re also training 181 teachers across 229 schools in an engaging new curriculum that will motivate 7,000 kids to get stuck into learning!
Solomon Islands
Clean water and toilets with handwashing facilities are crucial to keep kids hydrated and free of germs.
66% of schools in the Solomon Islands don’t have bathrooms or taps with safe drinking water, so we’re building toilets and clean water systems in 35 primary and secondary schools.
Clean water, no matter the weather!
When increasingly unpredictable weather meets out-of-the-box thinking; you get an eco-friendly solution that makes sure kids in Timor-Leste always have access to safe water.
Families get their fresh water from streams that weave across the island, but too often they experience weeks, or months, without rainfall which dries out the local springs. When it does rain, it’s short periods of heavy downpours – causing the streams to overflow into the sea.
We've come up with a solution to make sure kids and their communities don’t need to worry about where their next drink of water will come from.
We’re building dams using soil and natural materials that’ll retain rainwater during wet periods. We’re also planting lots of trees to strengthen the stability of the island – slowing erosion and recharging local springs. This will stop vital clean water from disappearing into the ocean!
Safe water will be more accessible to communities and schools, year-round, no matter what the weather has in store. Read more about our water resiliency project in Timor-Leste here.
Here’s a look at what this partnership will achieve by 2026!
Clean water and sanitation facilities in school and health centres
Students with access to clean water and handwashing at school
Students with access to menstrual hygiene supplies at school
Teachers trained in new early childhood education curriculums
The Negotiated Partnership is a long game - we’ll continue making lasting change in the Pacific which will set up tamariki and their communities, for decades to come!
CLEAN WATER FOR
PACIFIC TAMARIKI
Clean water is the key to life!
Without access to clean water, the nutrition, health, education and every other aspect of children’s lives are affected. With increasing costal erosion and major storms because of climate change, water sources across the Pacific are being contaminated.
But every day, we’re working with Governments and local partners to improve climate-resilient water and sanitation services across the Pacific – so kids don’t need to worry about the water they drink.
Filling cups for Pacific kids
Clean water is the key ingredient to a healthy, happy kid. That’s why we’ve invested $850 million into water and sanitation services across the Pacific since 2016.
Now, more than 2 and a half million people have access to clean, running water – and we aren’t slowing down anytime soon. We’ll continue working with local partners to build facilities until every kid, no matter how remote, has readily available, clean water.
Clean hands for healthy tamariki
Clean hands protect tamariki from spreading sickness so they can focus on learning, growing and playing with friends.
To make sure kids keep their hands squeaky-clean, we’ve built hand washing facilities in 178 schools and 189 health-care centres across the Pacific! We also partnered with Colgate and Palmolive to distribute half a million bars of soap in the Pacific Islands, making it even easier to scrub away germs.
An awesome innovation
Tippy taps are a cheap and easy-to-build handwashing solution invented in Vanuatu!
Using tree stems, a plastic container and string, tippy taps are simple to assemble but super effective for keeping hands clean when running water isn’t available. Because they’re so quick and easy to build, even climate disasters can’t stop kids from washing their hands. We’ve created instructions with diagrams on how to DIY tippy taps - so teachers, parents, and even kids, across the Pacific can build their own!
The DC10 Fund
We’ve partnered with one of Aotearoa’s favourite sports stars, Dan Carter, to shine a light on the issues facing kids in the Pacific, like access to clean water at home and school.
In 2022, we hosted the Kickathon, a fundraising event where he pushed himself to the limit by kicking goals for 24 hours straight! More than 1,500 kicks later, over half a million dollars was raised thanks to generous Kiwi donors like you.
After partnering with the New Zealand International Development Cooperation, we were able to invest a further $2.5 million in matched funding into water, sanitation and hygiene programmes for kids in the Pacific.
Then we took the Kickathon to the next level! In 2024 at Eden Park, DC set the Beat Dan Carter challenge and asked all of Aotearoa to beat his score of 273 goals using one ball, one tee, in one hour. 472 individuals, 55 teams and over 12,000 kicks later and we raised $138,594, to help Pacific tamariki get access to clean water.
NUTRITIOUS FUEL
FOR PACIFIC KIDS
When kids are eating well, they’re more energized, less likely to get sick, and able to focus on learning and playing!
Emergencies like cyclones, droughts and tsunamis are becoming stronger and more frequent because of climate change – and it’s impacting crops of nutrient-rich produce in the Pacific Islands. Parents are having to reach for imported, processed foods to feed their families and it’s affecting the health of Pacific tamariki.
To tackle this problem, we’ve developed a nutrition plan with Pacific Governments - creating new policies and legislation, nutrition advocacy and promoting healthy diets.
Pacific Kids Food Revolution
A fun and unique way to engage kids about healthy eating!
Pacific Kids Food Revolution is a children’s cooking show created by UNICEF that’s being rolled out in Fiji, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
The show promotes the importance of a balanced, healthy diet – especially when you’re still growing! Contestants use fresh, nutritious and local ingredients that get kids excited about growing their own produce and cooking at home.
“While on the show, I learnt how to include the three food groups into my daily meals, and how to make them with local fruits and vegetables, which is so important for a growing child” said Gabriel Jumar, 13.
Education rich in culture!
Brains are built over time and from the bottom up!
The first 1000 days of a kid's life is crucial in shaping their development, which is why early childhood education is so important. We’re investing in quality pre-primary education for kids in Pacific so they can unlock their full potential.
Pre-primary in the Solomon Islands
We’ve joined forces with the Government of the Solomon Islands to create a pre-primary year for five-year-old kids, sparking their passion for learning early! More than 1,000 teachers were trained in culturally relevant lessons across topics like language, social studies and science. The new curriculum rolled out across nine different provinces and has already engaged more than 20,000 kids.
Supporting parents in Vanuatu
Tamariki learn better when there’s a solid relationship between home and school. That’s why we’ve partnered with the Ministry of Education in Vanuatu to create the Parent Support Programme. The initiative kicked off in Penama province, where more than 180 teachers and 3,000 caregivers were trained on how they can get involved in their kids' education – from lending a hand with homework to encouraging a love for learning at home.
Learning through play
Piola was one of 200 early childhood teachers in Tonga trained on a new curriculum called ‘Learning through Play the Heilala Way’. Named after Tonga’s national flower, the programme encourages play-based learning using local materials. The lessons will engage kids in problem solving and working with others. Piola is making playdough using flour, water and oil while her students learn about different colours and shapes!
Education in the heart of Timor-Leste
Kids in Titibuti village used to spend long days accompanying their parents at local coffee plantations – but thanks to funds from the New Zealand Aid Programme, they now gather in the heart of the village to learn and play at their new preschool! Almeria is one of 169 teachers in Timor-Leste that received training in a new curriculum designed to engage kids with learning before they jump into their first year of school.
EDUCATION AT
YOUR FINGERTIPS
We’ve shattered the barriers between kids in remote places getting access to education!
Millions of kids around the world are getting stuck into unleashing their future potential with the Learning Passport, a groundbreaking digital platform that hosts hundreds of lessons across a huge range of topics.
We worked with Microsoft to develop the web and mobile app that can used offline in areas without internet connectivity - where kids need it the most. It was selected as one of TIME’s Best 100 Inventions of 2021 and is accelerating access to quality education for every child!
Breaking the cycle
When kids grow up around physical or emotional abuse, it negatively impacts their emotional wellbeing and development.
We work with Governments to strengthen child protection laws and support local organisations to make sure kids feel safe, loved and supported at home.
Social workers like Regina in the Solomon Islands dedicate their life to being there for kids and parents experiencing hardship.
This year alone, 1,000 kids in the Pacific have benefitted from child protection services while 500 police officers and community leaders have received training on safeguarding children.
Innovative health solutions!
The Pacific is home to some of the most remote communities in the world, presenting a lot of challenges in the delivery of lifesaving vaccines and medicines. To overcome these obstacles, we needed to innovate and think differently... which is where our drone delivery service comes in!
In 2018, the future of healthcare changed forever when, after months of testing and practice runs, the first ever drone-delivered vaccine landed in Vanuatu. Transported in Styrofoam boxes lined with icepacks, the vaccines successfully landed in Cook’s Bay – an off-grid community that’s cut-off from the nearest village by 40 kilometres of rugged mountains.
The village can only be reached by foot or small boats and has no electricity or healthcare, leaving kids vulnerable to preventable diseases. This made it the perfect candidate for our first delivery! The vaccines were administered to local kids and pregnant woman, who are now protected from getting sick thanks to some out-of-the-box thinking.
This is a massive leap for global health and a game changer for bridging the last hurdles to reach every child.
RAPID EMERGENCY
RESPONSE
The Pacific Islands are the most disaster-prone in the world. As the effects of climate change ramp up, emergencies like cyclones and floods are becoming more severe and frequent - which is why getting life-saving supplies to isolated communities is crucial.
Whenever there’s an emergency or outbreak, we’re on the ground within 48 hours to deliver critical resources like medicine, clean water, food and shelter. Our supply hubs in Suva and Australia are restocked before the cyclone season, so we're always ready to jump into action.
Our experience with local partners in Pacific communities helps us to deliver supplies that are needed the most. We don’t go anywhere after emergencies end – we're there for the long-haul, helping communities build back better and stronger than before.
Cyclone Judy and Kevin in Vanuatu
In March of last year, Vanuatu was hit with two category 4 cyclones only two days apart, as well as an earthquake that measured 6.5 on the Richter scale. The destruction was massive and almost half of the population was affected. We took immediate action, delivering more than 10,000 hygiene kits and education supplies for almost 2,000 kids.
We set up 123 temporary learning spaces and a health clinic that served 1,200 kids with immunisation, nutrition monitoring and ready-to-use therapeutic food, protecting them from malnutrition. More than 2,000 kids and families were given psychosocial support to work through trauma from the disaster.
Tonga earthquake
In January of 2022 Tonga suffered the largest volcanic eruption in over 30 years, sending shockwaves as far as Japan and Peru. It triggered a tsunami that destroyed buildings, food crops and water systems that left families and children without access to basic needs.
We worked quickly to deliver nutrition supplies and vaccines to 85,000 people, clean water services for more than 47,000 people, psychosocial support for 10,000 kids and families and school supplies for 22,430 students.
Measles outbreak
Samoa suffered a devastating measles outbreak in 2019 that put thousands of kids' lives at risk. Thanks to donors, we were able to deploy health and communication staff to support the Government’s immunisation campaign – delivering 110,500 doses of vaccine that saved thousands of lives from the preventable, life-threatening disease.
After the outbreak was contained, we kept staff on the ground to provide affected families and patients with psychosocial support to process the trauma, or loss, they had experienced.
A world first!
The Today Tomorrow Fund is a world first in disaster financing!
Designed to protect kids from the impacts of climate change, it’s an initiative launched by UNICEF to provide funding for kids and their communities in the aftermath of climate emergencies – delivering rapid finance for relief and recovery, while minimizing hazards before they strike. How cool is that?
The fund is being piloted for 3 years and it’s all starting right here in the Pacific! Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are included in the pilot phase and eventually, the goal is to reach one billion children living at risk from the impacts of climate change.
The fund will also invest in strengthening practical solutions with Governments for long-term climate resilience while building a low carbon future.
Weather-related disasters led to 43.1 million displacements of children over six years
Children in the Pacific islands of Vanuatu and Fiji featured highly on a per capita basis, with both countries in the top ten for proportion of children displaced by weather related events.
New report reveals harrowing scale of child protection crisis in the Pacific
A sobering new report details for the first time the shocking levels of physical, emotional and sexual violence, as well as neglect, faced by children living in the Pacific and Timor-Leste.
UNICEF and Rotary: protecting 100,000 Pacific Island children from life-threatening illnesses.
A Rotary and UNICEF immunisation program will protect up to 100,000 children in nine Pacific countries from potentially deadly illnesses including Rotavirus, Pneumococcal disease and Human Papillomavirus.