Port Vila, Vanuatu – For many women market vendors in Vanuatu, access to reliable energy is about much more than electricity. It means preserving food for longer, keeping businesses running after dark, supporting children's education, and building resilience against increasingly frequent climate-related disasters.

These experiences were at the heart of a series of consultations undertaken through the Vanuatu Energy Sector Resilience Project (VERP), led by the Department of Energy and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The consultations form part of a Gender-Responsive Capacity Needs Assessment aimed at strengthening inclusion across Vanuatu's energy sector.

Women entrepreneurs and market vendors from different islands shared how small solar systems already support their livelihoods through lighting, refrigeration, and productive activities such as food processing and coconut oil production. Participants also highlighted challenges, including limited access to maintenance services, shortages of trained technicians, and the need for greater participation of women in technical and leadership roles within the energy sector.

Many women emphasised that improved and more reliable energy services could enhance food security, increase income opportunities, improve safety, and help communities better withstand climate-related shocks.

Alongside the community consultations, an institutional workshop in Port Vila brought together representatives from government, utilities, civil society organisations, development partners, and the private sector to identify barriers and opportunities to strengthen gender equality and equitable access to energy services.

Opening the workshop, Director of Energy, Matthew Tasale, stressed that resilience must extend beyond infrastructure:

"Women, children, older persons, youth, and persons with disabilities are often disproportionately affected when electricity and essential services are disrupted. This is why resilience is not only about infrastructure. Resilience is also about inclusion," he said.

The discussions examined how policies, training systems, data collection, leadership representation, accessibility, and coordination mechanisms can better support an inclusive and resilient energy sector for all in Vanuatu.

Speaking on behalf of UNDP, VERP Project Manager Imran Khan highlighted the importance of ensuring that the transition to resilient energy systems benefits and includes everyone: 

"Globally and across the Pacific, the energy sector remains heavily male-dominated, particularly in technical and leadership roles. Through consultations like these, we can identify practical actions to ensure women, youth, and persons with disabilities are not only beneficiaries of energy projects, but active participants and leaders within them."

The assessment is being led by Gender Analyst Michela Lugiai, who noted that the consultations demonstrated how closely energy access, resilience, and social inclusion are connected, reminding that:

"Energy in Vanuatu is not only about providing electricity. It is about dignity, safety, livelihoods, healthcare, education, and resilience. Sustainable energy systems must reflect the realities of the people who depend on them every day."

Findings from the assessment will inform the refinement of VERP's Gender Action Plan and support the development of a Gender-Responsive Capacity Development Framework for the energy sector. The recommendations will help strengthen the ability of institutions and communities to build energy systems that are more inclusive, resilient, and responsive to the needs of all Ni-Vanuatu.

The Vanuatu Energy Sector Resilience Project is supported by the Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and implemented by UNDP in partnership with the Department of Energy. The project aims to strengthen resilience in energy planning, design, and operations while promoting gender equality, and social inclusion, with a special focus on inclusion of people with disabilities, across the sector.

For more information, please contact: 

Daniel C. Gonzalez, Communications Analyst for the Vanuatu Energy Sector Resilience Project | UNDP Pacific Office | (E) daniel.calderon.gonzalez@undp.org