Vanuatu
EWB Australia has worked with communities in Vanuatu since 2016 to create positive social impact.Population: 281,000
Capital City: Port Vila
Language: Bislama, English, French
As a nation comprised of more than 80 islands, Vanuatu is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change. In 2016, Tropical Cyclone Pam struck as a category five cyclone, causing severe damage to housing, health centres, schools and other critical infrastructure, and compromising access to clean water and appropriate sanitation. The country remains in a phase of recovery and reconstruction.
%
of people have access to basic sanitation
%
have access to electricity (2016)
%
prevalence of stunting among children under 5 years of age (2013)
%
female unemployment rate
* Sources: Asian Development Bank
Our Work
EWB Australia works to improve the quality of life of people living and working in disadvantaged communities in Vanuatu. Our work is impact-led, with a focus on positive, sustainable and long-term change. We do this through partnerships with local NGOs and Government departments, to build the capacity of the people who live and work in them. We ensure the solutions developed are evidence-based, relevant and, importantly, approved by each community.
In Vanuatu, our work is focused on our Sanitation in Challenging Environments program that sits within our work in the Water, sanitation & hygiene (WASH) sector.
Our Team
Key to this work are our in-country EWB Australia staff and our volunteer Field Professionals.
Our Field Professionals are technical or thematic specialists who volunteer to work in-country to provide critical expertise, mentoring and capacity-building. These technical professionals are not only skilled in the development of appropriate systems and solutions, but also in community-led design and engagement. Our Field Professionals work alongside our in-country staff within local NGO or government organisations. Via this collaborative response, we enable and empower communities in Vanuatu to only tackle the issues that are relevant to their community.
Stephanie is an environmental engineer and has been working since 2006 either in NGOs in Uganda, East Timor, the Solomon Islands and now Vanuatu,or in consulting and local Council in Australia.Through her studies and experiences, Stephanie learnt that to be working efficiently in the water sector,one had to tap into a wide range of skills and behaviours to try to respond to today’s world ‘wicked problems’. She is therefore constantly looking for opportunities to grow her technical, social and leadership skills as well as those of colleagues and partners, in order to ultimately create healthier and more resilient living places. Stephanie is an environmental engineer and has been working since 2006 either in NGOs in Uganda, East Timor, the Solomon Islands and now Vanuatu,or in consulting and local Council in Australia.Through her studies and experiences, Stephanie learnt that to be working efficiently in the water sector,one had to tap into a wide range of skills and behaviours to try to respond to today’s world ‘wicked problems’. She is therefore constantly looking for opportunities to grow her technical, social and leadership skills as well as those of colleagues and partners, in order to ultimately create healthier and more resilient living places.
Our Partners
We work alongside Vanuatu-based community and government organisations. Our work is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
Impact Stories
How demonstration toilets inform the socialisation of Vanuatu’s sanitation and hygiene guidelines 19 November, 2019 - On Vanuatu’s 85 islands, many people live in challenging sanitation environments, including areas that are drought or flood-prone, coastal, on hard rock, with high groundwater or in difficult social contexts. Sanitation issues in Vanuatu are exacerbated by natural disasters like category five Cyclone Pam, which caused severe damage to buildings and critical infrastructure in 2015.… read more
From stormwater to wastewater 24 July, 2019 - “How do we act together to mitigate the impact of human waste on the health of communities” Stephanie Hamel is WASH Program Manager in Vanuatu with EWB Australia and EWB New Zealand. This World Toilet Day she shares her reflections on saniation and the global environmental crisis. For the past three years, I have worked… read more
How do we stop turning our environment into an open sewer? 26 November, 2018 - Stephanie Hamel, WASH Program Manager in Vanuatu with EWB Australia and EWB New Zealand, shares her reflections on sanitation and the global environmental crisis. "For the past three years, I have worked as a Water Sensitive Urban Design/Drainage Officer in an Australian local council. The main question that I was spending my time thinking of… read more