CID Weekly: Who's getting the vaccine, Samoa election, upcoming CID Talks

+ Vaccine roll out dashboard 

+ A game-changer election in Samoa

Samoan politics is on a knife edge, after an election that  resulted in a dead heat between the two major parties, write Tamasailau Suaalii Sauni and Patricia A. O'Brien in The Conversation.

'This is a stunning and unexpected electoral rebuke of the ruling party, the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which has dominated Samoa for four decades.'

The nine-month-old opposition, Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party, with former Deputy Prime Minister Sa’o Faapito Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as its leader, is neck and neck with the HRPP party.

She has said that her party would govern in coalition with the independent winner of the 51st - tie-breaking  - seat. 

The result is likely to go to court.

FAST's success is due largely to public push back on the government's legislation to increase its power over bestowals of family land, and on the government's handling of the measles epidemic.  Mata'afa Keni Lesa writes for DevPolicy on why this result is so important for government accountability

Despite no COVID cases, Samoa is still in a state of emergency.

What would a change in government mean for development?

• A move away from increased infrastructure to  social development
• Human rights a key priority
• More urgency to open borders and rebuild the economy
• Greater focus on climate change.

+ Myanmar on the edge
At least 570 people, including more than 40 children, have been killed so far in two months of unrest.  More than 2,720 politicians, activists and civil society figures have been detained, along with at least 25 journalists.

There are also arrest warrants for at least 60 more artists, writers and cultural celebrities accused of spreading information that supposedly endangered national stability.

Health agencies have reported attacks on medical staff and ambulances to stop treatment of patients, and punish those who took part in national strike

Information has been stymied by the shut down of the internet, and rumors of the monitoring of communications by the military.  There have also been disruptions to banking services, limited availability of cash and challenges to supply chains which have hampered the United Nations and development agencies’ work in the country.

Myanmar is calling for international support through banners, T-shirts, umbrellas and candle-lit vigils, all with the initials R2P.

Responsibility to Protect (R2P) was developed after the Rwandan genocide as an international principle that calls on nations to act to prevent mass atrocities.  It was adopted unanimously at the United Nations World Summit in 2005. 

R2P has three core pillars which capture the moral imperative to protect citizens as well as the obligation to support rebuild and development post a crisis:

• Responsibility to Prevent
• Responsibility to Protect
• Responsibility to Rebuild.

+ Palestine - urgent need for COVID vaccine

Only 2 per cent of the population in Palestinian territories have been vaccinated, and the virus is surging out of control.

Over 20,000 patients are currently being treated for the new coronavirus, adding further pressure to an already fragile healthcare system, and leaving medical staff struggling to provide adequate care.

Medicins Sans Frontier (MSF) are calling on both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authorities to immediately step up vaccines and increase efforts to slow the spread of the virus.

In occupied East Jerusalem, all Palestinians are entitled to be vaccinated by Israel, as are medics working at the six Palestinian hospitals there - many of whom come from other parts of the West Bank and Gaza, according to the BBC.

'Palestinians in East Jerusalem have Israeli residency status - so those living there pay Israeli taxes and have access to Israeli health insurance.

Israel did not initially offer the vaccine to other Palestinians until early March, when it decided to start vaccinating all Palestinians who come to work in Israel or in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

There are around 133,000 such workers, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, with many crossing over to Israel from the West Bank on a daily basis.

But this is not the case in the West Bank and Gaza - home to an estimated five million people and regarded as occupied territories by the international community.'

+ 2020 State of the Sector Report - ComVoices

Growing threats to the New Zealand sector’s sustainability, and new insights on how Government can respond, are outlined in the findings of ComVoices latest (2020) ‘State of the Sector’ report.

With 80% of the sector battling increasing demand without corresponding resources and active volunteer numbers steadily decreasing, ComVoices Chair Rochelle Stewart-Allen says that New Zealand faces a stark choice – to build on the learnings of Covid-19 or risk the sector’s eventual downfall.

“The longer-term challenge for the community sector and New Zealand is becoming increasingly evident and urgent. While the pandemic dialed up the crisis – it also showed us how the Government’s response can best support a more stable, viable sector – to benefit all New Zealand communities.”

+ When a Webinar Ends in a Ethics Complaint

An Australia community fundraising webinar series has ended up in a formal ethics complaint with the Association of Fundraising Professionals against an speaker and author on donor-focused fundraising. The webinar was put on hold after it was noted on Twitter that 16 of the 19 speakers were white men, this started a Twitter debate.

Liz LeClair, current chair of AFP Global’s Women's Impact Initiative and major donor fundraiser filed the complaint after the author used social media to repeatedly challenge the legitimacy of an fundraising organisation which describes itself as a movement led by Black, Indigenous and people of colour.

An interesting read. Invites a debate about how we would have handled this complaint in New Zealand under the CID Code of Conduct and the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand.

+ Welcome to our new Affiliate Member - Take My Hands

The CID Board has recently approved Take My Hands Charitable Trust's affiliate membership application, and we welcome them to the CID Whānau.

Take My Hands Charitable trust is a social enterprise that responds to the medical equipment needs of our Pacific partners by collecting and collating usable medical equipment that won’t be used here in NZ any longer, but meets those Pacific needs. 

They work predominantly with governments, and health providers in the Pacific to ensure they understand what they need.  They only send them what they have approved to receive. 

Take My Hands' partners in NZ are DHB’s, health providers (public and private), and transport, shipping and logistics partners who provide them with their spare capacity where they have it, and/or reasonable rates where they don’t. In addition, they also collaborate with corporates and tertiary education  providers to support biomedical engineering in the Pacific.

We are very excited about having Take My Hands as a part of the CID whanau, and look forward to more engagement with them in the sector!

+ APPLY NOW! Nominations for Member Rep on CID Code Committee 

CID is looking for a new Member Representative for the Code of Conduct Committee, for a period of two (2) years (renewable) from May 2021 - May 2023.

The Code of Conduct Committee  provides assurance to CID members, donors, the public and partners that the CID Code is being implemented effectively and equitably. The next 12 months will be an exciting time as we continue with the implementation of recommendations from the Code Review.

The Member Representative will be nominated and elected by CID member organisations. The elected Member Representative can be:

• current staff or board members of CID organisations
• ex-staff and ex-board members of CID organisations
• fully elected CID board members but not the Chair of the CID board.

Please submit your nomination to Aaron Davy by COP Friday, 30th April or if you require further information, including a copy of the Code of Conduct Committee ToR and nomination form. 

+ COVID-19 cases continue to rise in PNG

The number of cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in PNG, with hundreds of new cases reported each day, even as lack of data reporting may be obscuring the true numbers.  Health services are under severe pressure, with Australia sending a team of specialists to join the response at Port Moresby Hospital.

The nation has vaccinated fewer than 6,000 people to date, largely due to vaccine hesitancy, reports CNBC.  Skepticism and conspiracy are rife, particularly in rural areas, says David Manning: "Of course, this is attributed to vaccine hesitancy, and you can attribute that to a lack of awareness — basically, information around, if there are any side effects of the vaccine and the false news that’s being propagated through social media".

+ Tuvalu gets the vaccine

Tuvalu is the second country in the region to receive free vaccines under the Covax Facility, designed to cover at least 20 percent of the population (the population of Tuvalu being less than 12,000 people). 4,800 doses of Astrazeneca arrived in the islands on the 8th April, flown in by Fiji Airways.

+ Vanuatu Cargo-Cult mourns passing of Duke of Edinburgh

The Prince Philip Movement, a 'cargo-cult' sect  made up of an estimated 700 Yaohnanen tribe people on Tanna, Vanuatu believed that the Duke of Edinburgh  was the manifestation of an ancient mountain spirit. 

A cargo-cult is a millenarian system where rituals are performed to deliver or incorporate technologically advanced goods. These cults were first identified in Melanesia in the wake of contact with military forces during WWII. The Tanna group believed that their idol in the guise of the Duke of Edinburgh encouraged a return to traditional ways prior to American and European contact.

“The people were very sad to hear of the passing of this great man,” said Jean-Pascal Wahé, the Tanna-based worker tasked with delivering the sad message to the isolated group.

“He was a very important man to us all and it’s a great loss.” With the death of the Duke of Edinburgh followers are expected to set up a political movement in his honor, and now transfer their attention to his eldest son Prince Charles.

+ What are People Saying About the Samoan Election?

As part of Pacific Co-operation Foundation's (PCF) 'Pacific Voice' series, PCF sought a range of views in the lead up the election, to gauge the mood of the nation, including what were the most pressing issues of the nation, who people think will win, and whether the nation is ready for change. Click here to read. 

+ Congratulations to Caren Rangi

CID would like to congratulate Caren Rangi, who has recently been appointed as the new Chair of the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand’s governing body) for a three-year term. 

CID members will remember Caren from her excellent workshops on governance last year. She has been a good friend to CID and the sector over the last few years, and we're thrilled to see her in this role and wish her luck.

+ Watch: interview with PM Cook Islands, Mark Brown

Check out Talanoa with Tupe's exclusive interview (above) with the Cook Islands Prime Minister Hon Mark Brown about his life, family, leadership style and a wide range of political issues affecting the Blue Pacific region.