With support from the Australian Government through AHP, Save the Children is working with the Tongan Ministry of Education and Training to ensure schools, students and communities are better prepared to respond to disasters.

The ongoing AHP response to the 2022 Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami is supporting disaster preparedness initiatives, including in schools. A new video series will show students across five islands what to do if a disaster strikes.

In Tonga, coastal communities impacted by last year’s volcanic eruption and tsunami were struggling to access enough clean water. Through the AHP response, water tanks are now helping households to recover.

Many communities and households in Tonga have to travel significant distances to access clean water. As part of the AHP COVID-19 response, water tanks are bringing supplies closer to home, improving hygiene and freeing up time.

Tropical Cyclone Gita (TC Gita) struck Tonga on 12 February 2018, affecting an estimated 80,000 men, women, boys and girls (about 70 per cent of the entire population). Many people lost their homes and required emergency shelter. AHP partner CARE Australia worked with local partners to provide emergency shelter and then transition communities into stronger housing options.

When Tropical Cyclone Gita hit Tonga in 2018, three organisations came together to get emergency assistance to the nation’s most vulnerable.

Through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership, CARE Australia received $500,000 for their Cyclone Gita response, Tonga.