Like many Pacific Island countries, Vanuatu in the Southwestern Pacific is vulnerable to natural disasters. In early 2020, the island country was hit by Tropical Cyclone Harold as well as the global COVID-19 pandemic. Even though Vanuatu has remained free from community transmission of coronavirus, travel restrictions and disrupted supply chains continue to affect the island country, and those in the informal sector are especially vulnerable to various shocks, as they lack social protection and safety nets. TC Harold affected more than 159,000 people in Vanuatu, with significant damage to crops, buildings, power and telecommunications. The tropical cyclone destroyed livelihood sources of whole communities, and many lack resources to recover.

With significant rural population and subsistence agriculture activities, the informal economy in the Pacific is represented primarily by market vendors and farmers. The Rapid Assessment on the Impact of COVID-19 on Employment and Workers, undertaken by the Vanuatu Council of Trades Unions (VCT) with support from the International Labour Organization (ILO), identified that 66.9 percent of employees in Vanuatu were in the informal sector.

Since 2020, the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) economic empowerment work in Vanuatu has been amplified by the UN Multi Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) through the COVID-19 response project - Inclusive Economic Recovery through Sustainable Enterprises in the Informal Economies of Fiji, Palau, Tonga and Vanuatu. With the support from the project, the Vanuatu team has been able to extend its reach and to fund seeds and agricultural tools distribution. The activities implemented by UNDP have been focused on farmers, marker vendors and vulnerable groups (people with disabilities) and those whose livelihoods have been affected by the pandemic.

In March 2021, the team, supported by MPTF project, visited Stonehill Settlement and Naonetas (South Santo) in Santo Island with the Market Business Fair. The training programme lasted four days in Stonehill and five days in Naonetas, and included topics such as food safety and preservation, managing of agricultural pests & diseases, bookkeeping, customer relations & business basics, packaging & labeling, and value addition through jams, syrup, pickles, tea and root crop flours. Value addition training has practical sessions for making of value-added products and their packaging.

In South Santo, the Vanuatu National Provident Fund and VanCare Insurance presented their products and registered interested individuals. A total of 126 people (123 women) were trained on value addition, 58 (57 women) - on financial literacy & business basics, 58 (56 women) – on agriculture, and 107 (103 women) went through financial services awareness under the MPTF project. During the first round of activities in Santo after TC Harold, seeds were distributed to over 300 market vendors.

Puha Lapan, the chief of Wusi, a village on the West Coast of Santo, is a highly respected man of vision, who feels responsible for his community and works hard to ensure there are strategic plans in the village that will improve the standard of living. He is also one of the vulnerable people due to a partial disability. The chief was happy that the team reached his village despite its remote location. Before COVID-19 and TC Harold, there had never been any kind of assistance coming to the village. The chief said that he sees the “twin crisis” as a blessing in disguise as a lot of aid from different organizations has reached his village. Chief Lapan emphasized the importance of considering market vendors who are all mothers from his village and said that with the seeds assistance the vendors will be able to provide food for their families.

In July, the MPTF project supported tools distribution to market vendors and farmers in 22 areas around Efate Island. Basic farming toolkit comprised of garden forks, garden spades, metal garden rakes, machete knives and garden hoes. A total of 580 people (550 women) received a basic garden toolkit each.

The Vanuatu team is planning to reach Pentecost and Tanna island communities with training, and to continue working in Santo and Efate through distribution of tools, by the end of 2021.