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Literature Review

Annotated Bibliography

An Investigation into the Development of Disaster Preparedness in Fiji

Chase Eck

February 13th, 2020

Problem Statement:

Fiji has a harsh history when it comes to natural disasters, specifically epidemics, which have had significant impacts on Fiji’s economy and society as a whole. Fiji is in a very fragile social and economic state that epidemics can easily disrupt, and it would not be the first time. Epidemics have had far-reaching effects on Fiji, including social breakdown and economic conflicts. Disaster preparedness is such a complex problem in this country due to many factors, including Fiji’s geographical location as well as Fiji’s dependence on its tourism industry. Fiji is constantly getting crippled by natural disasters, and is barely given time to recover from one before the next disaster is on the horizon.

Sources:

  1. ADRC. “Characteristics of Disasters in Oceania.” ADRC Asia, 2002, www.adrc.asia/publications/databook/ORG/databook_2002_eng/3_2_5.pdf Characteristics of Disasters in Oceania

  2. UNDRR, ADPC. “Disaster Risk Reduction in the Republic of Fiji.” UNDRR, July 2019, https://www.unisdr.org/files/68251_682302fijirevised16oct2019.pdf Disaster Risk Reduction in the Republic of Fiji

  3. Save the Children’s Resource Centre. “Key Messages for Disaster Risk Reduction And Resilience in Fiji: A Guide For Public Education & Awareness.” UNISDR, Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protections, 2016 https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/12396/pdf/key-messages_booklet_drr_fiji_2016.pdf Key Messages for Disaster Risk Reduction And Resilience in Fiji: A Guide For Public Education & Awareness

  4. Rubella Initiative. “Fiji and Measles: from Devastation to Elimination.” Measles & Rubella Initiative, American Red Cross, 16 Jan. 2017, measlesrubellainitiative.org/fiji-and-measles-from-devastation-to-elimination/. Fiji and Measles: from Devastation to Elimination

  5. Getahun, Aneley, et al. “Dengue in Fiji: Epidemiology of the 2014 DENV-3 Outbreak.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, Apr. 2019, ojs.wpro.who.int/ojs/index.php/wpsar/article/view/652/921. Dengue in Fiji: Epidemiology of the 2014 DENV-3 Outbreak

ADRC. “Characteristics of Disasters in Oceania.” ADRC Asia, 2002,

Summary: This article describes the patterns of natural disasters that occur in or near Oceania. The Asian Disaster Reduction Center is in charge of disaster risk reduction (DRR) for the Oceania islands. They have compiled the following data regarding the disaster trends of this region. Oceania experiences just about every type of natural disaster, however a few are far more prevalent. For example, they experience windstorms and earthquakes the most. Though these disasters are more numerous, other disasters have had larger impacts on the people of Oceania, such as epidemics, which accounted for 61% of deaths due to disaster in 2002. The two disasters that affect totally affect people involve windstorms and volcanoes. The most numerous disaster has been epidemics.

Analysis: Fiji’s economy is consistently getting battered by natural disasters. Its location is to thank for this, and the ADRC commented “It can be concluded that in 2002, Oceania experienced both hydro meteorological and geophysical disasters, almost in equal dimensions, due to the geological location of the region,” (ADRC 1).“It is easily understood from these sections that Asia is an extremely disaster prone region of the world in terms of human loss and suffering.” One large takeaway from this article is the huge impact that epidemics have on Fiji. As a matter of fact, if you were to take a look into planning a vacation/getaway to Fiji right now, their travel websites warn of travel restrictions due to the 2019 novel coronavirus. Fiji’s Department of Immigration even states “Fiji is closely monitoring the spread of the coronavirus and is prepared to pursue more stringent courses of action if deemed necessary.”

​ Fiji is taking this new virus quite seriously, likely due to their proximity to infected regions as well as their past history with viral epidemics. For example, Fiji had to overcome a vicious measles outbreak, to which the country lost 33% of their population. Today, the country is completely measles-free, due to implementing the measles vaccine in 1982. The health department of Fiji is focused on avoiding a repeat of this devastation due to the coronavirus.

​ This relates to Amartya Sen’s definition of human development. By developing the ability to effectively communicate about disasters, Fiji is sharing the freedom to overcome and/or avoid these disasters. Through the use of big data, Fiji has developed a much more holistic plan for disaster preparedness. These statistics that are provided in this article reveal which regions need the most attention when it comes to certain disasters.

UNDRR, ADPC. “Disaster Risk Reduction in the Republic of Fiji.” UNDRR, July 2019,

Summary: The UNDRR essentially outlines the progress of disaster-preparedness, the challenges, their recommendations, and their goals for the Republic of Fiji in this report. The article outlines how the country reacts to certain disasters. The focus here is on epidemic/pandemic response. Fiji has developed a “National Notifiable Disease Surveillance,” (UNDRR 16) which helps to track certain epidemics. According to this article, Fiji places quite high (20) on the Climate Risk Index.

The UNDRR also converses about the social impacts of the natural disasters that occur. They illustrate both the extent and the lengths of these impacts. For example, entire communities would be destroyed. One horrifying statistic that was included is that about 50% of farming families are expected to fall below the poverty line after a disaster. Also, the children of Fiji tend to lose continuity in their education due to these disasters.

Analysis: As good of a job as the UNDRR does with disaster-preparedness here, they seem to focus the majority of their research into climate change. While this is very important (and urgent), they have put too much energy into this one threat. Meanwhile, the Republic of Fiji is more concerned with other possibilities, such as epidemics, specifically the 2019 novel-coronavirus. I believe one of the main reasons for this focus is to protect their tourism industry, as this brings much capital to the country. Similarly, these disasters also tend to disrupt the agricultural industry, which produces about 11.7% of Fiji’s GDP. On top of flooding, which tends to take a massive toll on the land, landslides have begun to become quite numerous in this region. Without big data, these conclusions would be much harder to come by.

On the other hand, the system for epidemic notification has been quite successful, according to the UNDRR. They stated “No outbreaks were left undetected, the system performed well during the response period, 325 alerts were generated and three large-scale outbreaks requiring intervention were successfully managed (Sheel, et al., 2019),” (UNDRR 20). This is the development of freedoms, specifically the freedom to have meaningful and effective means of communication.

The socio-economic effects of disaster on Fiji are extensive and rippling. The country is putting copious amounts of resources towards easing these impacts, or avoiding them altogether, and for good reason too. For instance, if the 2019-nCoV were to spread about Fiji, communities would begin to break down. Their government is well aware of the vulnerability of their society when it comes to disaster.

Save the Children’s Resource Centre. “Key Messages for Disaster Risk Reduction And Resilience in Fiji: A Guide For Public Education & Awareness.” UNISDR, Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protections, 2016,

Summary: This source outlines how one should prepare for disaster, how one should react to disaster, and what they should expect from disaster. It explains the specifics for each of the following disasters: drought, earthquakes, floods, pandemics, tropical cyclones, wildfires, infestations, landslides, tsunamis, and storm surges. Fiji Red Cross also lays out a plan to store rations, provide first aid, and to communicate with the community. This guide also touches on some past examples of these disasters.

Analysis: This guide was published in 2016. In the past decade, Fiji has focused much more of its resources on disaster-preparedness, likely due to the huge impact they tend to have on society in this region. This is only one example of how they’ve begun to avoid economic and social conflicts.

​ The pandemic chapter gives the following information: how to assess/plan for a pandemic, how to reduce risks, how to respond to said pandemic, and specific instructions for different types of pandemics. The reader can tell how seriously Fiji is taking this risk, as they’ve had quite a heavy history with dangerous pandemics, including measles and dysentary. Currently, they are experiencing a small spike in measles cases and are taking every precaution to avoid this from spreading. One angle they have begun to take is keeping the public well informed about the whereabouts and frequency of measles reports. In the past, Fiji did not have this ease of communication. This is another main theme that is emphasized throughout this pamphlet: that the Fiji government will do everything it can to keep the public informed. As long as the people are aware of the problem and its associated risks, they can take part in preventing its spread. Once again, we see Amartya Sen’s definition of human development here, by developing the freedom of communication.

​ Think of it this way: imagine a massive outbreak of the 2019-nCoV in Virginia. Hypothetically, if the State of Virginia were to keep the public informed, residents could take precautions to help lower their exposure to possible sources of the virus. However, if the government was unable to inform the public, the virus would be given much more plentiful possibilities to spread. An infected person may belive they simply have a cold, and may expose the public to the virus’s pathogens. By giving the people the power of knowledge over the virus, the public is given an upper-hand over the virus. This guide provides that upper-hand. Hopefully, the Fijians today will be well prepared to handle another outbreak such as measles, or even the 2019-nCoV.

Rubella Initiative. “Fiji and Measles: from Devastation to Elimination.” Measles & Rubella Initiative, American Red Cross, 16 Jan. 2017,

Summary: This article talks about Fiji’s past experience with one epidemic in particular: the measles. The Measles and Rubella Initiative aims at completely eradicating this threat entirely from Fiji. It was started in response to the vast outbreak that occurred there in 1875. The article begins with a statement that is guarenteed to raise some eyebrows: “In 1875 Fijians buried one-third of their population – all dead as a result of measles,” (Rubella Initiative).

The article begins by giving a brief history of the epidemic: measles was carried over from Australia in 1875, then the measles vaccine was introduced in 1982. The Rubella Initiative claims the vaccine’s success is due to Fiji’s incessant campaign to get the vaccine to every corner of the country. According to the article, they have had success reducing deaths due to measles by 99%.

Analysis: One of the largest worldwide problems with viral epidemics today is how rapidly a disease can sprawl across the globe. In the words of one Pacific doctor, “In the 1870s, modern travel could allow a virus to go half way around the world, from port to port, in three years. Today a virus can circle the globe in a day,”(Rubella Initiative). This has been one of the most prominent concerns with the 2019-nCoV; many countries have even closed their borders to residents of Wuhan. Thanks to our modern day technology, China was able to identify the virus and attempt to contain it to Wuhan. Fiji has enacted a similar method of defense against the coronavirus, by closing its borders to people who have recently been to Wuhan. The basic message that Fiji’s government is sending is “We will do everything we need to in order to avoid another massive outbreak similar to the measles epidemic.”

Getahun, Aneley, et al. “Dengue in Fiji: Epidemiology of the 2014 DENV-3 Outbreak.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, Apr. 2019,

Summary: This article delves into the dengue virus serotype-3 outbreak in 2013-2014. There were 2848 confirmed cases in males, with 2373 more cases in females. The most affected age group was 15-24 year olds, and the virus had its largest spread in central, urban Fiji. Overall mortality was predicted to be 5.5 deaths per 100,000 people. Though this is not a particularly large number, some other regions had closer to 8 deaths per 100,000 people.

Analysis: As seen in the statistics in this article, the mortality rate and infection rate among men are higher than in women. This may be due to their occupational exposure to many people. This causes a large problem: if all the working age males contract the virus and are put out of work, the rest of the family must struggle to make ends meet. This is the basis for economic conflicts with epidemics.

​ One of the main reasons dengue fever was such a problem is Fiji’s location. The region is much more susceptible to vector-borne illnesses. For instance, the mosquitoes in Fiji are rampant. On top of the tropical climate, the urbanization of Fiji also plays a large role in such a quick spread of a virus. Their government has identified this problem and has implemented many solutions. Between the emergency notification system and travel restrictions, the goverment is able to quickly and efficiently respond to the threat of an outbreak (which they have for the 2019-nCoV).

I believe Fiji’s government has learned from its mistakes in the past surrounding epidemics. They are now much more prepared and equipped to handle this type of disaster. This is seen in how they have handled the 2016 measles outbreak as well as the more recent 2019 nCoV. However, without access to big data, this could be an entirely different story.