Adapting to the inevitable effects of climate change by improving the health of the vulnerable will be the focus of a major conference in Fiji this week.
Good reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health are being seen as vital to climate change resilience.
Bridget Tunnicliffe reports from Nadi.
"The conference is being hosted by the Fiji Ministry of Health in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund Pacific office. Pacific disaster management directors, health officials, and international experts will spend today and tomorrow discussing key lessons from current climate change impacts. The significant overlap between climate change affected-populations and populations with the gravest rates of preventable maternal and child mortality, will be at the heart of discussions. On Wednesday, Pacific Health Ministers will consider the outcomes of the experts' meeting and their proposed strategies on strengthening resilience for women, children and adolescents. The Ministerial meeting will establish a Pacific declaration to contribute to COP21 - the climate change conference in Paris next month."
Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades