Islands Of Vanuatu Research Articles

The role of animal products in balancing food baskets for Laos and the Pacific islands of Samoa and Vanuatu to minimise caloric and hidden hunger: a review

The ability of farming communities worldwide to provide balanced diets for the growing world population is enunciated clearly in the second of the United Nation’s sustainable development goals, namely ‘End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’. Success will be dependent on our ability to preserve the economic sustainability of livestock production in small-holder farming systems which will require regenerative approaches to reverse land degradation and retain biodiversity. Animal products are important components of world food baskets because their nutrient profile most closely resembles the dietary requirements of mankind. Key micronutrients, including iron, vitamin A, vitamin B12, zinc and iodine, are more readily available from animal-sourced foods, which are critical for a balanced diet for those with higher nutrient requirements such as growing children and pregnant and lactating women. The developing Asian economy of Laos, together with that of the Pacific Island nations of Vanuatu and Samoa provide some interesting contrasts in servicing the nutritional needs of their predominantly rural populations as their respective governments address the issues of undernutrition and hidden hunger. The paper explores some of the challenges that governments face in sustaining resilient animal production to supply essential nutrients for food baskets across our region. These include the broader contexts of resource availability, education, cultural traditions, socioeconomic status, gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Genetic variation present in the CYP3A4 gene in Ni-Vanuatu and Kenyan populations in malaria endemicity

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) enzyme is involved in the metabolism of about 30 % of clinically used drugs, including the antimalarials artemether and lumefantrine. CYP3A4 polymorphisms yield enzymatic variants that contribute to inter-individual variation in drug metabolism. Here, we examined CYP3A4 polymorphisms in populations from malaria-endemic islands in Lake Victoria, Kenya, and Vanuatu, to expand on the limited data sets. We used archived dried blood spots collected from 142 Kenyan and 263 ni-Vanuatu adults during cross-sectional malaria surveys in 2013 and 2005–13, respectively, to detect CYP3A4 variation by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. In Kenya, we identified 14 CYP3A4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including the 4713G (CYP3A4∗1B; allele frequency 83.9 %) and 19382A (CYP3A4∗15; 0.7 %) variants that were previously linked to altered metabolism of antimalarials. In Vanuatu, we detected 15 SNPs, including the 4713A (CYP3A4∗1A; 88.6 %) and 25183C (CYP3A4∗18; 0.6 %) variants. Additionally, we detected a rare and novel SNP C4614T (0.8 %) in the 5′ untranslated region. A higher proportion of CYP3A4 genetic variance was found among ni-Vanuatu populations (16 %) than among Lake Victoria Kenyan populations (8 %). Our work augments the scarce data sets and contributes to improved precision medicine approaches, particularly to anti-malarial chemotherapy, in East African and Pacific Islander populations.

Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Using a Portable Retinal Camera in Vanuatu.

Proof-of-concept study to test the feasibility of using an all-in-one portable retinal camera for the screening of diabetic retinopathy in the Pacific Island of Vanuatu, which has a high rate of diabetes and its associated complications and a dearth of ophthalmologists. From February 10, 2020, through February 28, 2020, 49 patients with diabetes mellitus from three islands in Vanuatu were recruited to participate in the study. Demographics, basic health data and retinal photography were obtained. A non-mydriatic, handheld camera was used (Volk Pictor Plus). Eleven participants (24%) had referral-warranted diabetic retinopathy. There was moderately high inter-rater reliability for our dependent variables: referral status (κ = 0.62, 95% CI 0.42-0.83), retinopathy severity (κ = 0.76, 95% CI 0.55-0.96), and clinically significant macular edema (κ = 0.50, 95% CI 0.25-0.74). Our study confirms that portable handheld cameras can be used to obtain retinal images of sufficient quality for diabetic retinopathy screening even in resource limited environments like Vanuatu. Among this cohort, a relatively high (24%) prevalence of referral-warranted diabetic retinopathy was found in Vanuatu.

Geographical variation in Canarium indicum (Burseraceae) nut characteristics across Vanuatu

AbstractTropical forests in the Pacific region contain many tree species that bear edible nuts (kernels). Canarium indicum (canarium) is an overstorey tree indigenous to Melanesia that produces commercially valuable kernels due to their pleasant taste and high oil content. This study characterises natural variation in fruit, nut-in-shell (NIS) and kernels of C. indicum across eight islands in Vanuatu. Significant tree-to-tree variation in fruit, NIS and kernel characteristics as well as kernel recovery (kernel:NIS) was found. This variation was largely due to tree-to-tree differences and little of this variation could be attributed to location. There were significant linear correlations among fruit, NIS and kernel traits, including kernel mass with fruit mass (R2 0.57) and kernel mass with NIS mass (R2 0.56). Therefore, trees suitable for cultivation may be screened based on fruit and nut characters before making final selections based on kernel mass. Trees sampled over two fruiting seasons showed that kernel mass and kernel number varied significantly between years for 63.6% and 25.9% of the trees respectively. However, by rank order, those trees that produced larger kernels in the first year of sampling, tended to also produce relatively larger kernels in the subsequent year. The implications of these results for the further domestication of the species for planting in commercial agroforestry systems is explored.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) seroprevalence in the South Pacific populations of the Cook Islands and Vanuatu with associated environmental and social factors.

Arthropod-borne diseases pose a significant and increasing risk to global health. Given its rapid dissemination, causing large-scale outbreaks with severe human infections and economic loss, the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is one of the most important arboviruses worldwide. Despite its significance, the real global impact of CHIKV remains underestimated as outbreak data are often incomplete and based solely on syndromic surveillance. During 2011-2016, the South Pacific Region was severely affected by several CHIKV-epidemics, yet the area is still underrepresented in arboviral research. 465 outpatient serum samples collected between 08/2016 and 04/2017 on three islands of the island states Vanuatu (Espiritu Santo) and the Cook Islands (Rarotonga, Aitutaki) were tested for anti-CHIKV specific antibodies using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent Assays. A total of 30% (Cook Islands) and 8% (Vanuatu) of specimens were found positive for anti-CHIKV specific antibodies with major variations in national and intranational immunity levels. Seroprevalence throughout all age groups was relatively constant. Four potential outbreak-protective factors were identified by comparing the different study settings: presence of Ae. albopictus (in absence of ECSA E1-A226V-mutation CHIKV), as well as low levels of human population densities, residents' travel activity and tourism. This is the first seroprevalence study focussing on an arboviral disease in the Cook Islands and Vanuatu. It highlights the impact of the 2014/2015 CHIKV epidemic on the Cook Islands population and shows that a notable part of the Vanuatu test population was exposed to CHIKV although no outbreaks were reported. Our findings supplement the knowledge concerning CHIKV epidemics in the South Pacific Region and contribute to a better understanding of virus dissemination, including outbreak modifying factors. This study may support preventive and rapid response measures in affected areas, travel-related risk assessment and infection identification in returning travellers. ClinicalTrials.gov Aachen: 051/16_09/05/2016 Cook Islands Ref.: #16-16 Vanuatu Ref.: MOH/DG 10/1/1-GKT/lr.

Playing with the Anthropocene: Board game imaginaries of islands, nature, and empire

The figure of the island as a metonym for the planet is central to many allegories of the Anthropocene. These allegories build upon pre-existing discourses of islands as remote, vulnerable, and timeless, and often portray contemporary island nations as helpless, doomed, and disposable. This article focuses on one allegorical terrain that has received limited discursive and cultural analysis: analogue board games. Board game representations of islands are relevant to island studies both due to the popularity of island themes and because of the resonances between common island imaginaries and the form of board game play itself. Looking at three explicitly island-themed board games (Taluva, Vanuatu, and Spirit Island), I explore the extent to which these games reiterate or contest discourses of islands as sites of ahistorical insularity and alterity. I investigate the presence and absence of islanders in these fictional landscapes, the relationship between these ludic cartographies and imaginaries of ecological collapse and environmental intervention, and the articulations of nature, humanity, and empire that are literally at play. Particularly in the case of Spirit Island, these board game representations reflect the potential for the figure of the island to be reconfigured in order to imagine the Anthropocene otherwise.

Sex-specific distribution and classification of Wolbachia infections and mitochondrial DNA haplogroups in Aedes albopictus from the Indo-Pacific.

The arbovirus vector Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) is common throughout the Indo-Pacific region, where most global dengue transmission occurs. We analysed population genomic data and tested for cryptic species in 160 Ae. albopictus sampled from 16 locations across this region. We found no evidence of cryptic Ae. albopictus but found multiple intraspecific COI haplotypes partitioned into groups representing three Asian lineages: East Asia, Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Papua New Guinea (PNG), Vanuatu and Christmas Island shared recent coancestry, and Indonesia and Timor-Leste were likely invaded from East Asia. We used a machine learning trained on morphologically sexed samples to classify sexes using multiple genetic features and then characterized the wAlbA and wAlbB Wolbachia infections in 664 other samples. The wAlbA and wAlbB infections as detected by qPCR showed markedly different patterns in the sexes. For females, most populations had a very high double infection incidence, with 67% being the lowest value (from Timor-Leste). For males, the incidence of double infections ranged from 100% (PNG) to 0% (Vanuatu). Only 6 females were infected solely by the wAlbA infection, while rare uninfected mosquitoes were found in both sexes. The wAlbA and wAlbB densities varied significantly among populations. For mosquitoes from Torres Strait and Vietnam, the wAlbB density was similar in single-infected and superinfected (wAlbA and wAlbB) mosquitoes. There was a positive association between wAlbA and wAlbB infection densities in superinfected Ae. albopictus. Our findings provide no evidence of cryptic species of Ae. albopictus in the region and suggest site-specific factors influencing the incidence of Wolbachia infections and their densities. We also demonstrate the usefulness of ddRAD tag depths as sex-specific mosquito markers. The results provide baseline data for the exploitation of Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in dengue control.

The Structure of Hemicalide from the Marine Sponge Hemimycale sp

AbstractHemicalide is a marine natural product isolated from the sponge Hemimycale sp., collected near the Torres Islands of Vanuatu. It is characterized by cytotoxicity in the sub‐nanomolar range, with an original mode of action. This article describes the establishment of the planar structure of hemicalide, based on extensive use of 2D‐NMR experiments. The molecule belongs to the polyketide class with an irregular combination of acetates and propionates and adorned with two unusual hydroxylated six‐membered ring lactones. After publication of the original patent, groups in Paris and Cambridge (UK) launched synthetic programmes with the aim of elucidating the configurations of some of the 21 stereogenic centers. The second part of the article discusses these achievements and presents the best hypothesis, to date, for hemicalide.

Effective coastal adaptation needs accurate hazard assessment: a case study in Port Resolution, Tanna Island Vanuatu

Developing countries face risks from coastal hazards that are being amplified by climate change. The selection of effective adaptation interventions to manage these risks requires a sufficiently accurate assessment of the coastal hazard at a given location. Yet challenges remain in terms of understanding local coastal risks given the coarseness of global wave models and the paucity of locally scaled data in most developing countries, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Vanuatu. This paper aims to examine the differences in hazard assessment and adaptation option selections arising from analyses using globally versus locally scaled data on coastal processes. As a case study, we focused on an eroding cliff face in Port Resolution on Tanna Island, Vanuatu, which is of concern to the local community and government authorities. The coastal process modeling revealed that the global wave data generated unrealistically high predictions of wave height within Port Resolution Bay. Expensive engineering adaptations designed to provide coastal protection were therefore likely to fail in preventing ongoing cliff erosion. In this case, the best adaptation solution involves changing land use to revegetate and help stabilize the cliff top. Our case study highlights the importance of accurate hazard assessment, especially in data-poor regions where the extrapolation of global datasets and models in the absence of local data can result in poor adaptation decision-making. Furthermore, the multidisciplinary approach applied here can be applied in other data-poor regions to strengthen analyses exploring the benefits of local adaptation interventions.

Contending With Water Shortages in the Pacific: Performance of Private Rainwater Tanks Versus Communal Rainwater Tanks in Rural Vanuatu

AbstractAround 2 million people in the Pacific depend on rainwater collection for their drinking water, however these systems often struggle to provide sufficient quantities of water year round. This study examined the performance of 1,878 rainwater tanks across 19 islands in Vanuatu to assess whether the likelihood of a sufficient year‐round supply of drinking water differed between village‐level rainwater tanks used communally and private rainwater tanks owned by individual households (i.e., self‐supply). More than half of the tanks assessed failed to provide a sufficient supply of water year round. Compared with communal rainwater tanks, private rainwater tanks had significantly higher odds of a sufficient year‐round supply of water (adjusted odds ratio 1.61, 95% confidence interval 1.24–2.09, p < 0.001). This relationship was evident when adjusting for village‐level clustering, year of installation, presence of other improved water sources, tank volume, number of users, and a proxy indicator for rainfall. Private rainwater tanks outperformed communal rainwater tanks irrespective of whether communal tanks were managed by a community‐based committee. The findings support the notion that in some circumstances private property rights can help avert resource depletion, and that household self‐supply is capable of delivering a more reliable water supply than community‐based management. However, the study design was unable to rule out differences in roof catchment area as a factor influencing the results. Further work is needed to confirm and elucidate the mechanisms by which private ownership facilitates a year‐round supply and understand the wider advantages and disadvantages of self‐supply.

The Small Spaces of Global Struggle

The Small Spaces of Global Struggle

Multilingualism in Vanuatu: Four case studies

Each of the 65 inhabited islands of Vanuatu hosts its own unique linguistic environment in which varying degrees of multilingualism are found. This paper defines various types of small-scale multilingual settings in Vanuatu and explores what sociohistorical factors have led to them. This paper is based on first-hand observations and primary data collected by the authors in four locations in the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu since 2016: two neighboring villages of Emae Island (Makatu and Tongamea), North Malekula, and on Maewo Island. The assessments of multilingualism in these examples from Vanuatu were qualitative, based on observations of sociolinguistic practices in each of these areas, as well as data from language history and language use surveys carried out in each place. Through defining and comparing the types of multilingualism present in the four case studies, we identify patterns in the social and historical processes that lead to various kinds of multilingualism: (a) interaction of linguistic and sociocultural identities and (b) mobility of both individuals and entire speech communities. The examples described in this paper are used to highlight the diversity of multilingualism found in Vanuatu and to explore how their differing linguistic environments and histories have contributed to their varying degrees of multilingualism. This paper makes an original contribution to knowledge about the small-scale multilingual situations in Vanuatu, offering descriptions of previously undocumented and endangered multilingual environments. Through an examination of the sociocultural motivations for multilingualism, alongside historical migrations of speaker groups and marked sociolinguistic identities, this paper contributes to research on why and how small-scale multilingualism can develop. Furthermore, this paper provides the foundation for future, more rigorous investigations into the small-scale multilingual situations of this highly understudied region.

Severe Flooding in the Atoll Nations of Tuvalu and Kiribati Triggered by a Distant Tropical Cyclone Pam

Tropical cyclone (TC) Pam formed in the central south Pacific in early March 2015. It reached a category 5 severity and made landfall or otherwise directly impacted several islands in Vanuatu, causing widespread damage and loss of life. It then moved along a southerly track between Fiji and New Caledonia, generating wind-waves of up to approximately 15 m, before exiting the region around March 15th. The resulting swell propagated throughout the central Pacific, causing flooding and damage to communities in Tuvalu, Kiribati and Wallis and Futuna, all over 1,000 km from TC Pam’s track. The severity of these remote impacts was not anticipated and poorly forecasted. In this study, we use a total water level (TWL) approach to estimate the climatological conditions and factors contributing to recorded impacts at islands in Tuvalu and Kiribati. At many of the islands, the estimated TWL associated with Pam was the largest within the ∼40-year period of available data, although not necessarily the largest in terms of estimated wave setup and runup; elevated regional sea-level also contributed to the TWL. The westerly wave direction likely contributed to the severity, as did the locally exceptional storm-swell event’s long duration; the overall timing and duration of the event was modulated by astronomical tides. The findings of this study give impetus to the development, implementation and/or improvement of early warning systems capable of predicting such reef-island flooding. They also have direct implications for more accurate regional flood hazard analyses in the context of a changing climate, which is crucial for informing adaptation policies for the atolls of the central Pacific.

Mobilities of Return: Pacific Perspectives ed. by John Taylor and Helen Lee

Reviewed by: Mobilities of Return: Pacific Perspectives ed. by John Taylor and Helen Lee John Connell Mobilities of Return: Pacific Perspectives, edited by John Taylor and Helen Lee. Canberra: ANU Press, 2017. isbn paper: 978-1-76046-167-6, iii + 215 pages. Paper, us $45.00. In this century, migration and mobility in the Pacific region have involved more people and have become ever more complex. As demonstrated in Mobilities of Return, mobility has emerged not just as "a defining paradigm" of the humanities (1), but as a means whereby many Islanders shape and reshape their destinies, some much as they have always done and some in quite new forms. This book focuses on one particular strand: the "return" of people "back" to places that are designated, however ambiguously or ambivalently, as "home." Just as return is eclectic, so too is this book, reflecting the range of possibilities in terms of duration, distance, intentions, and outcomes but centering on the cultural significance of return and what that implies and means for identities. It is then a collection of valuable vignettes—vastly different by age, gender, and place and by authorial intent. With a cast of anthropologists, the perspectives are social and cultural; economics and the world of mirab are dismissed by page three in favor of Epeli Hau'ofa's cultural "sea of islands" (see "Our Sea of Islands" in The Contemporary Pacific 6 [1]: 148–161). Yet although the opening chapter refers to the familiar tropes of roots and routes, none of the chapters reflect on the earlier work of Murray Chapman and Joel Bonnemaison and other pioneers who offered valuable reflections on Indigenous agency and [End Page 608] whose shadows linger over several chapters. The book offers a generous definition of the Pacific and a range of rationales for and destinations of return—a diffuseness that makes for uneasy comparisons. From an Indigenous group in Taiwan and hiv-positive women in West Papua to the much smaller islands of Rotuma and Banaba, diversity reigns. Some are scarcely returning; Tongan youth have been forced to return from Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand to home-lands they have never seen, a somewhat painful rite of passage. Many returnees are "next generation," born beyond their ancestral homes. Some return is jubilant, rather more is reluctant, and emotions are ubiquitously challenged. Thorgeir Kolshus focuses on the ambiguities of "urban castaways" from the small northern Vanuatu island of Mota and points to the diversity of experiences of return and thus of what can be regarded as successes and failures by any mode of accounting. Only Kolshus points to the role of material hardship (but alongside fear of sorcery) in alien places and the need to return to the security of home, however fraught with its own divisions, rivalries, and tensions it may be. Unlike almost every other group in the book, Mota islanders have come to "the realisation that the world outside their small island home has little to offer them" (10), and yet, as Kolshus makes clear, they also realize that the maintenance of footholds elsewhere is crucial to face the uncertainties of the future. Even they, who more than most have experienced the frustrations of other places, accept the necessity of maintaining some form of dispersed and diffused livelihoods. At the other end of an arbitrary scale, Kirsten McGavin recounts the almost impossible task of long-term métis Australian residents seeking to connect with homelands they have rarely seen, never quite at home and anguishing over whether identity is about being or doing. Wolfgang Kempf offers a fascinating account of the island of Banaba, whose population was forcibly removed to Fiji seventy years ago to make way for mining. Some of these Banabans and their descendants have moved back to Kiribati, which now includes the culturally and geographically distinct Banaba as an outlier. They are thus spread across Kiribati, Fiji, and beyond, within "a transnational space of multiple belongings" (15), following decades of contemplating and legislating for place and identity. Many now see Rabi (the Fijian island to which they were uprooted and resettled in the 1940s) as home. Few have even seen Banaba. Frustratingly, the few hundred in the...

WAVE TRANSFORMATION WITHIN A CORAL REEF LAGOON SYSTEM, ERAKOR LAGOON, VANUATU

Coral reefs encircle most of the islands in Vanuatu and provide natural breakwaters for coastal communities by reducing wave energy arriving at the shoreline acting to control both inundation and erosion. Climate Change is projected to both exacerbate coastal hazards and endanger corals. The aim of this paper is to better understand the parameters that govern hydrodynamics on fringing reef systems. The interaction between the depth, waves and currents are studied from measurements conducted in Erakor lagoon, Vanuatu.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/mPrG6NWL4dM

Sea Surface Temperature and Ocean Heat Content during Tropical Cyclones Pam (2015) and Winston (2016) in the Southwest Pacific Region

AbstractThe sea surface temperature (SST) and upper-ocean heat content (OHC) have been explored along the track of two tropical cyclones (TCs): TC Pam (2015) and TC Winston (2016). These TCs severely affected the islands of Vanuatu and Fiji, in the South Pacific region (8°–30°S, 140°E−170°W). The SST decreased by as much as 5.4°C along the tracks of the TCs with most cooling occurring to the left of the TCs tracks relative to TC motion. SST cooling of 1°–5°C has generally been observed during both the forced and relaxation stages of TC passage. Argo profiles near the TCs revealed observable temperature-based mixed layer deepening. Subsurface warming was also observed post-TC passage from the temperature profile of one of the floats after the passage of both TCs. The OHC and heat fluxes are seen to play an important part in TC intensification as both these TCs intensified after passing over regions of high OHC and enhanced heat fluxes. Apart from the traditionally used OHC obtained up to the depth of the 26°C isotherm (QH), the OHC was also determined up to the depth of the 20°C isotherm (QH,20). The QH and QH,20 values decreased in the majority of cases post TC passage while QH,20 increased in one instance post-TC passage for both the TCs. QH,20 was also used to identify heat energy changes at deeper levels and it correlated well with the traditionally used OHC during the weaker stages of the TCs.

Petrographic and chemical analyses of sherds from the Kurin Lapita site (Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia), ca. 3000–2700 BP

As part of a wider study of the transfer of Lapita pottery into and within New Caledonia, we studied a sample of Lapita sherds from the site of Kurin on Maré, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. The Loyalty Islands lie between the Vanuatu island chain and the rest of New Caledonia, so it has been suggested that they may have been the first part of New Caledonia to have been colonized during the initial Lapita expansion. We examined 28 sherds by optical petrography, and compared these to archived thin sections of Lapita pottery from the islands of Erromango and Efate in Vanuatu. We also made chemical analyses by neutron activation analysis (INAA) of 11 of these 28 sherds, and later reanalyzed these 11, and 12 more, by inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) analysis as part of the analysis of 329 sherds from throughout New Caledonia. We find no evidence in this sample for the transfer of Lapita pottery from Vanuatu to the Loyalty Islands; the only demonstrably exotic pots are 5 sherds from the main island (Grande Terre) of New Caledonia. Our results offer some support to the view that the initial Lapita expansion was not a continuous wave of advance, but a discontinuous “leapfrogging” process that initially bypassed some island chains. We also note evidence for the existence of at least two mutually exclusive networks of exchange of Lapita pottery in New Caledonia after the initial colonization of the region.

CHINESE INVOLVEMENT IN VANUATU AND SOLOMON ISLAND FOREIGN POLICY AGAINST THE PAPUA ISSUE

The influence of China in the Pacific region increases due to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) program that focuses its assistance and soft loans on the development of basic infrastructure and other supporting infrastructure. Increased economic influence has an impact on changes in regional geopolitical maps. China appears to be increasingly dominant in influencing the foreign policy of the region’s countries, including China’s involvement in controlling Vanuatu and Solomon Island’s foreign policy. At present, the issue of Papua is on the main agenda of Vanuatu and Solomon Island’s foreign policy. Significant funds are needed to finance the process of advocating for the issue of Papua in the Pacific region and the international community. One source of funding comes from Chinese aid. This article will review China’s position as a source of the financing for the Papuan separatist movement based in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, by using a power approach and economic diplomacy.
 Keywords: China, Belt, and Road Initiative, economic, diplomacy, Power, Vanuatu, Solomon Island, and Internationalization of Papuan Issues.
 

A Household Survey to Evaluate Access to Surgical Care in Vanuatu.

Surgical care is an integral part of any healthcare system, yet there is a paucity of data on the burden of surgical disease, surgical capacity and access to surgical services in the Pacific region. This study aimed to evaluate access to surgical care through a pilot household survey in the Vanuatu island of Efate and five of its surrounding islands. The 2009 Vanuatu census' GPS coordinates were used to randomly select 150 rural and 150 urban households from Efate and its surrounding islands. A total of 143 urban households and 142 rural households were available for inclusion in this study. A household questionnaire was developed to evaluate access to surgical care and included information regarding household demographics, socio-economic indicators and perceived and realised barriers to accessing care. The questionnaire was administered by local health workers, and data were collected electronically. Questionnaires were completed by 285 households. Two hundred and forty-one out of 254 (94.8%) households reported being able to access Port Vila Hospital, if required. The most commonly cited potential barriers to accessing surgical care were financial constraints (42.4%) and transport (26.4%). Our results provide important insights into the geographic, sociocultural and economic barriers to seeking, reaching and receiving surgical care in this region of Vanuatu. Identifying specific areas and communities with poor access to care, alongside the determinants of access, will help in designing both clinical and policy interventions to improve access to surgical care.

Nitidulidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) of Vanuatu

Abstract A checklist to the Nitidulidae of Vanuatu is provided based on a combination of historical museum specimens and recent field expeditions. A dichotomous key to the described species recorded from the country is provided. Specific data per island is given where available; in addition, broader distributions are outlined for each described taxon. Several undescribed taxa are listed but not described until further work can be done in the region. A discussion of the movement of invasive Nitidulidae throughout Vanuatu is also included with an emphasis on the relationship between increases in human movement and commerce and the number of invasive species present. This discussion is extended to other islands in Vanuatu that have not yet been sampled in an attempt to predict the presence of invasive species.