Pacific islands that rely on tourism should reset their economies and invest in sustainable industries and migrant workers to better weather the impact of disease and disaster, according to a senior United Nations official.
Kanni Wignaraja, head of the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) for Asia-Pacific, urged small Pacific economies that were so hit hard by global travel bans to do things differently when they re-open for business and as overseas labour ventures back. Many migrant workers had already returned to the Pacific islands, where unemployment – particularly among women and young people – was high before the pandemic, according to the U.N.
The coronavirus has infected more than 5 million people globally and killed some 320,000, according to a Reuters tally. Pacific islands such as Fiji, Tonga, Cook Islands and Samoa imposed strict lockdowns to combat the virus; they denied access to supply vessels and banned contact during aircraft refuelling. On top of vanishing tourist income came the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Harold – a Category 5 storm that hit the region last month, cutting power and destroying holiday resorts.
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation
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