2021 Annual Progress Report Spotlight Initiative Vanuatu Country Programme

Despite the compounding complex crises of TC Harold, COVID19 and natural calamities including volcanic ash fall, acid rains, flooding, drought and the Ambae volcanic recovery, the Spotlight team continued to navigate a complex environment for the Spotlight Initiative’s implementation. The programme has been catalytic in mobilizing UN agencies in Vanuatu to combine diverse, complimentary mandates, expertise, and technical contributions to provide effective, comprehensive, and coherent support to EVAWG in the country. The programme’s country steering committee has evolved into broader EVAWG country level committee with number of donors, government, UN, and civil society representatives providing strategic direction of UN’s tailored support to EVAWG, which is anchored in the newly passed National Gender Equality Policy (NGEP). The civil society representatives actively engaged in consultations with UN agencies providing critical

inputs in developing locally contextualized responses.

In Vanuatu, the Spotlight initiative has supported implementation across humanitarian and development nexus. The programme has developed multi-stakeholder essential services and standard operating procedures to respond to women survivors of violence and child protection, which were also adapted to natural disasters’ response, migration and COVID19 safe guidelines. The program has also worked with key stakeholders to progress GBV integration into Evacuation Centre Management guidelines, ensuring that GBV prevention and response is prioritized in time of disaster. These are just a couple examples of how the Spotlight Initiative is enabling government

to address VAWG in times of “calm” as well as crisis through various sectors.

To learn more, download the report.