IFRC Disaster Law has been working in Vanuatu since 2009. Our work in supporting the development of disaster laws in Vanuatu has been a catalyst for legal and policy reform in many other Pacific nations. Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015 saw the country's legal preparedness put to the test and, in 2019, a new Disaster Risk Management Act supported by Vanuatu Red Cross and IFRC Disaster Law was adopted. Vanuatu Red Cross is currently supporting the drafting of a Disaster Recovery Bill.
IFRC Disaster Law has also conducted several studies on disaster law in Vanuatu, including a study on International Disaster Response Law (IDRL) in Vanuatu. Vanuatu was one of 16 countries included in a study of legal preparedness for regional and international disaster assistance in the Pacific. It was also one of the countries analysed in Law, Disasters and Public Health Emergencies in the Pacific, looks at the intersection of public health emergencies and disaster risk management systems in the Pacific, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
