Disaster READY: World Vision, with support from the Australian Government through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership Disaster Ready program, has been working with Local Area Councils and Provincial Emergency Operations Centres in Vanuatu to strengthen disaster preparedness and improve the capacity of these actors to respond to disasters in villages like Ukoro. 

Access to clean water was a challenge for Ambae residents evacuated to Santo in 2018 as a result of ongoing volcanic activity.

Disaster READY: The experience of the Ambae volcano response in Vanuatu, as well as a tsunami alert and a tropical cyclone in the past year, showcases how disaster preparedness requires active management and adaption – before, during and after a disaster.

Disaster READY Vanuatu spent 2018, the program’s foundation year, forming and cementing partnerships across the nation. Read about their progress here, including how a multi-stakeholder tsunami drill was soon put into action.

“We are lucky to have running water, but we also need soap to keep us clean and healthy. We have not been able to afford that. During Save the Children’s Cash for Work program, we worked together with our host households to establish communal gardens next to our settlement site.”

In 2017, Save the Children in partnership with CARE received $400,000 through the AHP to assist in responding to the Ambae volcano crisis.

In 2017, Caritas Australia received $350,000 through the AHP to assist in responding to the Ambae volcano crisis.