Financial challenges discussed at humanitarian meeting

Transcript

There was a resounding call for access to finances both before and after disasters from Pacific leaders at a regional meeting looking at humanitarian challenges.

The meeting is being held in Auckland in preparation for next year's World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul.

Koro Vaka'uta reports.

The three day meeting aims to discuss challenges, new partnerships, and the future of humanitarian action and has attracted nearly 150 delegates including the president of Kiribati, the prime minister of Tuvalu, the premier of Niue and the foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand.

Much of the talks surround climate change and disaster situations because of their high frequency in the Pacific.

The administrator of the UN Development Programme Helen Clark says one of the messages she is delivering is the need to prepare for such disasters.

HELEN CLARK: More investment up front in reducing disaster risk will not only save lives but it will save communities the incredible development setbacks they see in being in the eye of a storm they have not been able to effectively plan around.

The Niue Premier Toke Talagi agrees building resilience is important, however he says more trust needs to be applied in relationships between donors, aid organisations and pacific nations.

He says communication between disaster aid providers and recipients needs to improve.

TOKE TALAGI: All that trust really should have been built up well before disaster occurs so everybody knows what everybody is doing.  Disaster plans we prepare.  We prepare with funds from donor organisations.  You would expect that they wouldn't come in and say you've got to do it again.

The Prime Minister of Tuvalu Enele Sopoaga says relationships are important but access to money is the main problem.

Mr Sopoaga uses the example of a UN money distribution mechanism to assist the developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change.

ENELE SOPOAGA: Direct access is an issue. Are we getting direct issue into the Green Climate Fund?  It looks like allocation of resources would be based on the quality of reporting and timeliness of proposals, not on the vulnerability level.

Mr Sopoaga says funding in general is an issue with assistance also needed to boost representation of small island states.

He says his attendance at the Auckland event was difficult to organise because there was a lot to attend to back home and funds were limited.

Mr Sopoaga says with other important meetings talking about issues which significantly impact the Pacific, more assistance is required.  

ENELE SOPOAGA: How are we going to make sure our voice is represented in the process leading up to Istanbul, to COP21 (United Nations Climate Change Conference).  We need funding.  We need assistance to make sure our voice is heard.  Unless we get that we are going to be left behind.

The President of Kiribati Anote Tong is due to attend the meeting on Thursday.