ChildFund NZ prepares to help 800 Kiribati households withstand fuel shock.
ChildFund New Zealand is preparing to support up to 800 households in Kiribati as rising fuel costs threaten to put further pressure on essential services including water, food, and transport.
The organisation’s Kiribati branch confirmed to Waikato Independent this week that the country is not currently experiencing a fuel crisis, however, ChildFund NZ CEO Josie Pagani says the charity stands ready to assist children and families as the global fuel crisis begins to disrupt essential services across the Pacific.
Pagani warns that rising fuel costs are already affecting critical systems children rely on, including water, food, energy, and transport.
She said the organisation is preparing a project that will support 4,000 people across up to 800 households to better withstand the impacts of a prolonged fuel shock.
“The crisis is not just fuel costs today. It is the long‑term impact on these isolated communities when critical supplies are delayed, and transport becomes unaffordable,” Pagani said.
ChildFund NZ’s planned response will be delivered by ChildFund Kiribati in South Tarawa and the outer islands of Abaiang, Makin, North Tabiteuea, South Tabiteuea, and Nonouti.
The programme will include practical resilience measures such as increased water capture and storage, portable desalination units, training local technicians to maintain water systems, and expanding local food production using raised beds and container gardens suited to Kiribati’s saline, waterlogged conditions.
ChildFund Kiribati will work with the Kiribati Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy, the Agriculture and Livestock Department, island councils, water user groups, and participating communities to finalise sites and technical interventions through rapid assessments.
The response is made possible through a partnership between ChildFund New Zealand, Plan International, and funding from the Australian Government.
