Apenisa Waqairadovu 
Palau has become the second Pacific Island country to move forward with developing its humanitarian warehouse.
The facility is part of the Pacific Humanitarian Warehouse Program, which aims to ensure that adequate resources are pre-positioned for the immediate delivery of aid following natural disasters.
So far, Kiribati is the only country that has opened its facility.
The Palau warehouse will store non-food essential items that can be deployed within the first few hours after a disaster strikes.
Pacific Community Director-General Dr. Paula Vivili stated one of the main challenges in advancing this initiative across the region is the availability of land.
Dr. Vivili highlighted that while seven countries have already identified land for the construction of their warehouse facilities, another seven are yet to confirm suitable sites.
During the Disaster Risk Management Ministers Meeting, it was also emphasized that most countries prefer to build new facilities rather than adapt existing structures for their humanitarian warehouses.
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