Port Vila, Vanuatu —Thirty stakeholders from government, utilities, civil society and the training sector have validated the first gender-responsive assessment of capacity needs in Vanuatu's energy sector and agreed actions to address the gaps identified.

The commitment to gender-equal, climate-resilient energy in Vanuatu is largely in place. What is missing is the practical capacity to act on it. That is the central conclusion of the Gender-Responsive Capacity Needs Assessment carried out under the Vanuatu Energy Sector Resilience Project (VERP), validated by stakeholders from across the sector at a roundtable and validation workshop hosted by the Department of Energy and the Ministry of Climate Change with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The participants took part in the workshop representing the Department of Energy, the Ministry of Climate Change, the Department of Youth and Sports Development, UNELCO, the National Green Energy Fund, the Vanuatu Institute of Technology, ILO, SPC, RENEW Pacific, CARE International Vanuatu, VANWODS, VPride Foundation and UNDP.

Vanuatu’s Department of Energy Director, Mathew Tasale said:

“Powering Vanuatu is about more than just stringing power lines, erecting solar arrays or building micro-hydro intakes. True, lasting resilience is built with every woman, youth, person with a disability, and community leader with the knowledge, skills and authority to manage, operate, and govern our energy future.”

Vanuatu Energy Sector Resilience Project Manager, Imran Khan said:

“The workshop is not just about validating past findings. It is about establishing a clear roadmap for how this evidence shapes the future of the project and Vanuatu’s energy sector. We are ready to translate this evidence into action.”

The assessment drew on a questionnaire completed by 58 respondents in English and Bislama, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and a multi-stakeholder workshop held in Port Vila in May 2026.

• 45 per cent of respondents had received no gender-equality training in the previous two years, and 57 per cent identified limited gender awareness in the energy sector as the main obstacle to inclusive green-energy resilience. Energy and gender practitioners reported the gap in equal measure, meaning it is structural and not confined to one community.
• A consistent gap runs between belief and capability. Stakeholders agree strongly with gender-equality principles but report markedly lower confidence in applying them in daily work, with the difference reaching 27 percentage points on some measures.
• Energy and gender practitioners hold complementary gaps: each is strong where the other is weak. Those who work across both fields score highest on every measure, the clearest evidence yet for joint, cross-sectoral training.
• Seasonal labour migration predominantly affects men, leaving women as the de facto operators of community energy systems. Training women in technical and maintenance roles is therefore a reliability measure as much as an equity one. It is how systems can keep running.

Participants confirmed that the findings reflect their own experience of the sector and the discussion moved quickly to implementation. Three outcomes emerged.

The findings were validated and a way forward agreed. Stakeholders endorsed cross-sectoral training that brings energy technicians and gender practitioners into the same room, and backed targeted technical training for women in the communities where energy systems must be kept running.

The participants reviewed and endorsed in principle two key tools: GEDSI Capacity Development Framework and the Climate-Resilient Technical Design Guidelines. The GEDSI Capacity Development Framework establishes training modules across the project cycle that embed gender, disability, and social inclusion directly into technical modules through partnerships with government, civil society, utilities, and training institutions. Alongside it, the Climate-Resilient Technical Design Guidelines create Vanuatu's national reference for off-grid micro-hydro, solar PV, and hybrid mini-grids by integrating climate resilience and inclusion into initial design requirements. To address a critical lack of cross-sectoral coordination backed by 72% of assessment respondents, the roundtable established a standing network of practitioners across the energy, disaster risk reduction, and inclusion sectors for ongoing collaboration. Finally, key proposals for rollout include mandating training through funding approvals and job descriptions, providing free accredited online modules in Bislama, English, and French, benchmarking salaries to retain trained local technicians, and setting up insurance and recovery mechanisms for mini-grid systems.

Next Steps

The Gender-Responsive Capacity Needs Assessment was validated. A technical working group will convene within weeks to review the draft Capacity Development Framework and the draft technical design guidelines. Stakeholder orientation and co-creation events will continue in September, with the first training modules rolling out in October and November.

The Gender-Responsive Capacity Needs Assessment Findings Report will be available on the UNDP Vanuatu website. To request a copy of the presentation or to be notified when the report is published, contact the VERP Project team.