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Kar Kar Island drops suddenly out of the clouds and spills into the sea along Papua New Guinea’s northeastern coast. An hour flight from the capital, Port Moresby, and a two-hour speedboat ride from the nearest town, its 150,000 inhabitants thought little of COVID-19 when news of the pandemic first arrived. Misinformation spread faster than the virus, so by the time the first COVID-19 cases were reported on Kar Kar, the majority of residents were adamantly against receiving the vaccine.

Due to geographic isolation and limited manufacturing capabilities, communities across Fiji and other Pacific island countries often lack access to sufficient water and sanitation facilities. As a result, when extreme weather events—including cyclones, flooding, and tsunamis—occur in the Pacific region, limited access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) supplies and other relief commodities often hinders local populations’ ability to meet their immediate needs.

The Republic of Kiribati is a tiny Pacific Island nation located along the equator. Most of the country’s 33 islands stand just a few meters above the sea, leaving its population of 105,000 people vulnerable to rising sea levels and severe weather.