Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australian High Commission)

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Website: https://vanuatu.embassy.gov.au/

Social Media: Australian High Commission Vanuatu

Phone: 22777

The Australian High Commission in Port Vila maintains and develops relations between Australia and Vanuatu, and provides consular services to Australian citizens in Vanuatu. There are several Australian Government agencies based at the High Commission providing services to both Governments of Australia and Vanuatu. These agencies include Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australian Defence Force (ADF), Australian Border Force (ABF), and the Department of Home Affairs. Australia and Vanuatu are close partners as Australia is the largest provider of development and humanitarian assistance to Vanuatu. Under its development program, the High Commission works with the Government of Vanuatu to implement Australia’s new International Development Policy and the Vanuatu Development Partnership plan. All of Australia’s development assistance to Vanuatu is also aligned to Vanuatu’s sector strategies, policies, and priorities. Australia works in a range of sectors including infrastructure, education, health, humanitarian, security, justice, gender, skills and more. Australia’s bilateral investments in gender include support to Vanuatu Women’s Centre (VWC) for activities targeted at ending and preventing violence against women and children, and support to CARE for its Gender Equality Together (GET II) program. Additional funding has also been provided to VWC to undertake the second National Gender-Based Violence prevalence study (2021-2025). Through regional funding, Australia also supports various other pieces of work targeting women in leadership (Balance of Power), women’s economic empowerment (UN Women’s Markets for Change program), women’s reproductive health and many more (for full list of AU funded gender programs see Vanuatu Country Report produced by PWL Enabling Services team).

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) collaborates closely with various partners including New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZ MFAT) to support various gender-focused initiatives in Vanuatu. This partnership includes significant contributions for over 30 years to programs managed by the Vanuatu Women’s Centre (VWC) and CARE. DFAT, alongside VWC, works to eliminate violence against women and children through funding for their Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW) program which focuses on providing support services and advocacy aimed at reducing gender-based violence in Vanuatu. Additionally, DFAT contributes to CARE’s Gender Equality Together (GET II) program, which is designed to enhance women’s economic empowerment by improving women’s access to economic opportunities and resources, thereby strengthening their financial independence and economic security. DFAT also supports UN Women’s Markets for Change program which focuses on increasing women’s access to markets and improving their economic prospects, which is crucial for fostering sustainable development and economic equality.  DFAT, in partnership with NZ MFAT, supports UN Women’s Women’s Resilience to Disasters program. This program aims to enhance the capacity of women to respond to and recover from climate-related disasters, ensuring that gender considerations are integrated into disaster resilience strategies. In terms of advancing women’s leadership and political participation, DFAT collaborates with the Department of Women’s Affairs through the Balance of Power program. This initiative focuses on increasing women’s representation and involvement in leadership and political processes, promoting gender equality in decision-making roles. DFAT also supported Vanuatu Coalition for Gender Equality’s participation at the 46th UPR Session in Geneva in 2024. This Coalition was made up of 8 local women’s rights organisations.

Through DFAT’s funding of the VWC, they are able to run activities in all Vanuatu islands through Provincial centres and their Committees Against Violence Against Women (CAVAWs). The GET II program is run in Efate and Tanna, specifically in Lenakel and also area councils and villages of selected Young Women in Leadership Program participants.

 

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australian High Commission)
Australian High Commission
Port Vila Vanuatu

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