Micronesia advances disaster readiness with its first sovereign humanitarian warehouse in Palikir

Excerpt from islandsbusiness.com

POHNPEI, Federated States of Micronesia – Last month, leaders gathered in Palikir for the groundbreaking of the Federated States of Micronesia’s (FSM) first sovereign humanitarian warehouse, a facility designed to strengthen the country’s ability to organise, manage, and move relief supplies in anticipation of and during the early stages of disaster response.

His Excellency Wesley W Simina, President of FSM, the Honourable Stevenson A Joseph, Governor of Pohnpei and leaders of FSM, joined by Dr. Paula Vivili, Director-General of the Pacific Community (SPC), and Her Excellency Jenny Grant, Australian Ambassador to FSM, took part in the ceremonial digging and consecration of the land.

The warehouse will be constructed on government-allocated land, aptly located behind the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Emergency Management (DECEM) office in Palikir. The proximity of the warehouse to the country’s central emergency coordination hub at DECEM will allow for activation, decision-making and dispatch to occur from one locality. This integrated set-up is intended to shorten the time required to organise and move items to communities across all four states.

The President of FSM, H.E. Simina, said, “Our responsibility is to protect lives and support communities when hardship strikes. This warehouse will help us organise and deploy essential supplies more efficiently across our states. By placing this capability beside DECEM, we are strengthening a national system that serves every community, including those most distant and most affected.”

SPC Director-General, Paula Vivili said, “SPC acknowledges the Government’s strong commitment to national readiness through the allocation of land and the leadership of His Excellency President Wesley W Simina to proactively strengthen approach to disaster preparedness.”

He added, “Through the work with DECEM and our humanitarian partners, we are supporting a system that prepositions supplies and logistics where activation and decision making occur, so that communities receive help more quickly and in a more coordinated manner.”

Australian Ambassador to FSM, Her Excellency Jenny Grant, said, “Today’s groundbreaking is not simply about concrete and steel. It is about a shared commitment to a resilient Blue Pacific.”