On Tuesday 9th June 2026 (from 12.00pm – 2.00pm - AEST), WLI will host an online Learning & Networking event focused on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) across Pacific Island countries. The event is for Australia Awards scholars and alumni from the Pacific and their families, as well as development colleagues in our region.
About SRHR in the Pacific
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) have become a critical yet contested area of development across Pacific Island countries. While many Pacific government shave made progress in strengthening health systems and expanding access to health services, evidence shows that SRHR outcomes remain uneven across the region, shaped by leadership decisions, cultural norms, and policy environments(UNFPA Pacific, 2022). In many Pacific communities, conversations around sexuality, reproduction, and bodily autonomy remain sensitive, influenced by tradition, faith, and long-standing social expectations.
Across the region, governments in countries such as Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Tonga have made commitments to SRHR through national health, gender, and development policies, as well as through regional and global frameworks (UNFPA,2022). In Fiji for example, SRHR has been integrated into national health and adolescent health strategies. Samoa and Tonga have introduced policy measures linked to maternal health and gender-based violence, while Kiribati and Solomon Islands have prioritised adolescent pregnancy and reproductive health in national planning. Despite these commitments, putting policy into practice remains uneven. Significant gaps persist between policy intentions and people’s lived realities, especially for women and girls, youths, persons with disabilities, and others whose experiences fall outside socially accepted norms.
SRHR in the Pacific is shaped not only by policy, but by culture and leadership. Traditional values, faith institutions, and community structures continue to provide protection and belonging for many people, yet silence around sensitive issues can also contribute to stigma, exclusion, and unmet need. Leadership at community, institutional, and national levels plays a critical role in determining whether culture is engaged in ways that promote dignity, inclusion, and open dialogue, or used to justify inaction.
About this event
This webinar will bring together Pacific scholars, policy experts, and practitioners to examine the evolving SRHR landscape in the Pacific through the lenses of leadership, culture and policy. It will highlight how leadership choices, cultural norms, and policy frameworks intersect to shape SRHR outcomes across different Pacific contexts. The discussion aims to strengthen understanding of SRHR as a leadership and policy issue, promote informed dialogue, and encourage greater engagement by Pacific leaders and communities in advancing inclusive, culturally grounded, and rights-based approaches to SRHR in the region.
The event will feature a live expert panel discussion, audience Q&A, and break-out group discussions to explore the topic in further depth.
About the expert panel
Guest speakers include:
Ms. Bolena Azimo, Maternal and Child Health Manager, Waniati Maternal Waiting Home
Ms. Ana Leau Vaasa-Te'o, Assistant CEO, Samoa Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development
Event details
Date: 09 June 2026
Time: 12.00pm – 2.00pm AEST
Location: Online, via Zoom