CDP Monitoring Reports - Vanuatu

Vanuatu was heavily affected by Cyclone Harold and COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Service export (tourism), major income source of the country, has reduced significantly, but the economy is expected to rebound to growth 4-4.5% in coming years. The Government of Vanuatu has been implementing the STS and actively engaged with CDP, although it has not submitted its annual report on STS as of Feb 2022. The Committee found that the priorities of STS are very wide, and recommends the country to narrow down the focus and implement the strategy in stages. Promoting productive capacity, for instance, through digitalizing the economy, should be the central part of the short term recovery, as well as building resilience in the long run. Vanuatu is suggested to continue making efforts to overcome the limited statistical capacity with assistance from development partners. The CDP recommends ECOSOC to call for international community to continue providing assistance to Vanuatu, particularly, on building climate resilience, disaster risk reduction and financing for development that could lead to promoting productive capacity.