Voice of a Climate Champion

Devex, the global development community's media platform, spotlighted our very own Fiji Operations Manager Jean Matthias this week as part of its "Turning the Tide" video series.

The series examines how climate change is affecting the global development community. Searching for a humanitarian's perspective on how changing weather and environmental patterns are affecting the need for and ability to deliver aid, Devex asked Matthias, our Humanitarian of the Year, to share her Field Ready experiences.

Climate change and the resulting increased severe weather has repeatedly devastated some areas of the country - making the need for humanitarian aid ever more important, Matthias notes" 'Fiji has had a tough run in the past few years with a climate change issue alongside a pandemic," she said. "I've seen an increase...in natural disasters like tropical cyclones, storms and flash flooding over the years, one after the other," which often also leads to the spread of diseases such as typhoid and dengue fever in the aftermath.

The Devex video is a fantastic look at some of the important work our Fiji team has done in the last year responding to natural disasters and epidemics while also working closely with health practitioners and government officials to improve sanitation across the region. Take a look - and share your thoughts here in the comments!