The Executive Director of the Fiji Social Services Council, Vani Catanasiga, is calling on the government to strengthen its capacity to promote change in his country to meet the needs of the people.

Catanasiga believes that the government’s position and agenda must remain focused on financing adaptation, climate displacement and ensuring a just transition for vulnerable communities.

She believes that efforts to build resilience must extend beyond core processes.

“We must ensure – we must ensure – that community solutions remain at the heart of our strategies. You know, we’ve seen government systems overwhelmed. We saw it in the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. We saw it in 2021. We had, you know, hurricanes. I think we had two hurricanes.

Catanasiga says if communities develop the capacity to fend for themselves, they won’t have to rely as much on government systems.

She reiterates why we need to talk about community-based solutions and advocate for a model of participation that emphasizes concrete results, accountability and real commitment – ​​not just rhetoric – to communities facing challenges. most immediate threats.