NORTHERN DIVISION, Fiji – As the world comes together to celebrate the International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Pacific is assisting Fiji Northern Division Commissioner's Office and communities in supporting rural women and girls on the island of Vanua Levu, including those affected by climate crises, to reach their full economic potential and build back better.
In line with the global theme for this year’s IWD, ‘Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress’, UNFPA Pacific is supporting the local government and the rural communities in Vanua Levu, by providing sewing machines, brush cutters, gum boots, refrigerators and other items to women and young people for their economic empowerment, strengthening their capacity to learn, earn, and lead. This initiative, under UNFPA’s Multi-Country Programme (2023-2027) for 14 Pacific small island developing states (SIDS) including Fiji, employs an integrated approach to ‘community resilience’ building by incorporating women’s economic empowerment as part of enhancing climate crisis-prone communities’ preparedness and response capacity.
Ever since the island of Vanua Levu was hit hard by the consecutive large-scale Tropical Cyclones Yasa and Ana in 2020-2021, UNFPA Pacific has been collaborating closely with the Northern Division Commissioner's Office, the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management and other partners to support vulnerable villages, especially women and youth.
These women are utilizing the sewing machines, tables, chairs, and other materials provided through UNFPA Pacific’s integrated community resilience building programme, for instance, to produce reusable menstrual hygiene kits for nearby schools and communities. These women’s groups received training on how to produce reusable menstrual pads by a trainer from the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection. These women joined forces and undertook the repair work of their community bakeries, and initiated workshops for the other fellow women in the community about sewing and baking.
“The sewing machines with tables, the dyer, sewing cloth and sewing kits that UNFPA provided have benefited our women’s group a lot. We were able to sew window and door curtains, tablecloths, Bula wears, and patch torn clothes,” said Salome Dicova, a woman leader and the Head of the Korotubu Village in Macuata. The income generated from the sales of these products has not only helped the women individually and their families, but they also pooled their savings and made a collective contribution to support an existing Korotubu Village development programme by the Government and for their community obligations. “On this International Women’s Day, the women’s group in Korotubu is determined to continue working together among us and ensuring that we and our families are supported well,” added Dicova.
UNFPA Pacific is deploying its core resources to carry out this integrated community resilience building initiative. Support for Fiji's Vanua Levu has been made possible also by the funding support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) and the European Union-UN Spotlight Initiative. By the end of February, a total of 2,279 people from 423 households in the selected 15 villages in Vanua Levu Island have already benefited from this UNFPA support.
“Investments, such as UNFPA’s, can enhance rural communities’ livelihoods, create a more diverse and sustainable workforce, and reduce negative economic and social consequences of disasters. Their savings can help ensure their access to health and other services, when hit by an emergency such as a cyclone,” affirmed Leigh-Ashley Lipscomb, UNFPA Pacific Chief of Gender and Human Rights.
Community women in the cyclone-prone island of Vanua Levu showing UNFPA Director for the Pacific and Representative in Fiji, Iori Kato, the sewing machines and other items they received as part of UNFPA Pacific's integrated economic empowerment and disaster resilience initiative in the Northern Division, Fiji. (Photo: UNFPA)
