Asian Development Bank

It has a road map which identifies major constraints for the delivery of urban services in the Pacific, including fragile economies, limited public land and capacity issues.

The bank also found women and girls having less access to services and resources.

The road map will be used to guide, among other things, the design and implementation of sustaining urban services, such as water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management.

It will also improve spatial planning and help prepare for climate change including flood and drought management.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says Pacific member economies contracted by 5.8 percent in 2020 due to Covid-19 but it forecasts a recovery by year's end.

The ADB tips 1.4 percent growth but notes that is contingent on a return of tourism, a start of delayed construction, and the resumption of labour mobility and international trade.

But the bank's Pacific economist Rommel Rabanal said not every country will return to growth and that there are ongoing risks.

The grants to Samoa (US$8 million), Tonga (US$5.5 million), Tuvalu (US$1.5 million), and Vanuatu (US$3.9 million) will support their COVID-19 vaccination programmes for a combined population of almost 600,000 people. The project is financed by ADB’s US$9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility launched in December 2020 to offer rapid and equitable vaccine-related support to ADB’s DMCs.

Tonga Power Limited (TPL) CEO Setitaia Pasivaka Chen, New Zealand High Commissioner to Tonga Tiffany Babington, and ADB Pacific Department Director General, Leah Gutierrez all delivered keynote speeches at the event which commemorated the key milestones of the Nuku’alofa Network Upgrade Project.

The grant is sourced from ADB’s Asian Development Fund.

Nuku’alofa Port Upgrade Project will renew, rehabilitate and expand the port’s infrastructure, as well as strengthen its operations and management.

An estimated 98% of imports reach via sea to Tonga, an archipelago of over 170 islands,.

Discussions will also include ongoing efforts to respond to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Although Tonga remains COVID-19-free, the country’s borders are closed.

In his first virtual mission to the Pacific region, from 10 to 11 September, Saeed will pay a virtual courtesy call with Tonga Prime Minister Pohiva Tuionetoa. He will also meet with Tonga’s Minister for Health Amelia Tu’ipulotu, Minister for Infrastructure and Tourism ‘Akosita Lavulavu, and other senior government officials.

The funds are an even split between concessional loan and grant which the ADB says will also help mitigate the economic impacts of the virus.

The Solomons' government says the funds will help tackle health and economic strains caused by the pandemic.

It will finance the training of frontline nurses and doctors to fight the virus, as well as the acquisition of personal protective equipment for medical staff.

Economic stimulus will go to the farming and fishing sectors, small businesses, and state owned enterprises including Soltuna and Solomon Airlines.

The grant, which is equivalent to $27.67 million Tonga pa’anga is from the ADB’s Asian Development Fund.

A state of emergency was declared in Tonga on 20 March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health emergency and closure of its borders have put pressure on Tonga’s health systems and the broader economy. The government has announced a 60 million pa’anga short-term assistance programme—the Economic and Social Stimulus Package—to combat COVID-19.

A state of emergency was declared in Tonga on 20 March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The public health emergency and closure of its borders have put pressure on Tonga’s health systems and the broader economy. The government has announced a 60 million pa’anga short-term assistance Programme to combat COVID-19. ADB’s assistance will support the upgrading of local health care facilities; fund logistics to lock down the country’s border; and provide relief for the elderly, the unemployed, and vulnerable businesses such as tourism, retail, agriculture, and transport.

The new office marks a significant increase in the development institutions’ presence in Tonga and the Pacific region.

“ADB and World Bank financing has helped Tonga achieve real development results,” said Prime Minister Tuʻiʻonetoa.

“The new shared field presence of the two institutions will allow us to collectively better respond to the development needs of the people of Tonga.”