From the Frontlines: Samoa Calls For Climate Finance that Reaches Communities

2026-03-18 - 04:44

New York, 17 March 2026. The Associate Minister for Women, Community and Social Development, Honourable Tilafono David Joseph Hunter, raised the urgent need for accessible climate financing and united leadership of women and men in addressing climate and security challenges at the 70th Commission on the Status of Women in New York. Speaking at the high-level event “Pacific Women at the Frontlines of Climate and Security,” moderated by Dr. Fiona Hukula, Policy Advisor at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), he emphasised that for the Pacific, climate change is already reshaping lives, livelihoods, and community security. “For the Pacific, climate change is not a future threat, it is our lived reality.” He highlighted that while women continue to lead resilience efforts across communities, lasting solutions require the shared leadership of both women and men, supported by systems that respond to Pacific realities. “Climate finance must reach the communities who are already leading the response.” Across Samoa, resilience is being strengthened through ongoing village-level disaster preparedness, including community training, skills development, and coordinated response efforts led by women’s committees, village leaders, and families. Regional Voices Reinforce Urgency Panelists from across the Pacific reinforced the urgency of collective action: • Tuvalu highlighted the immediate and existential impacts of climate change on low-lying nations, where land, livelihoods, and identity are increasingly at risk. • Fiji emphasised the importance of strengthening linkages from national to global systems including supply chains, policy responses, and financing mechanisms calling for a more coordinated and united global response. • Civil society voices underscored that while women are often the most affected during disasters, they are also the ones holding communities together leading response, recovery, and resilience on the ground. Through initiatives such as the District Development Programme and inclusive disaster risk frameworks, Samoa continues to invest in community led, locally driven solutions. Recent responses, including nationwide dengue mobilisation efforts, have demonstrated the strength of this approach with communities working together to protect lives and livelihoods. “This is the Pacific way shared responsibility, collective action, and leadership grounded in community.” Samoa also called for stronger global recognition and resourcing of frontline leadership. “Pacific communities are already leading. The global system must now enable and resource that leadership.” The event brought together Pacific leaders to elevate regional perspectives on climate, security, and peace reinforcing the importance of inclusive, community driven approaches. Samoa reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening resilience and safeguarding the wellbeing of women, men, and future generations.