Over 100 actors from the Pacific Islands region have gathered for the 5th Annual Pacific Humanitarian Team Regional Workshop in Fiji's western tourist town of Nadi.

The organizer, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement that the workshop that focuses on promoting international, regional and national best practice will build on the lessons learned from a number of humanitarian responses over the last 12 months including the 2011 droughts in Tuvalu and Tokelau, Tropical Cyclone Wilma that hit Vanuatu in March 2012 and the January and February 2012 Fiji floods.

During the workshop, participants will discuss how a possible weak El Ni?o phenomenon and tropical cyclones will affect different Pacific island countries in the coming months and what preparedness actions organizations can take to ensure effective, predictable and accountable humanitarian responses that are achieved through partnership.

They will work to develop concrete actions for how different sectors such as health, nutrition, shelter and education can respond to a range of different emergencies including earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, volcanic eruptions and tropical cyclones all of which have affected the Pacific Island region over the last five years, says the statement.

The Pacific Humanitarian Team is a unique collaborative partnership between all major humanitarian actors in the Pacific islands region. Pacific island countries, UN agencies, NGOs and donor organization work together to ensure a coordinated humanitarian response.

Peter Muller, Regional Disaster Response Advisor Pacific, explained that the team has responded to over 17 natural disasters in the last five years and "we work in one of the world's most susceptible regions to natural disasters".

"This meeting gives us the opportunity to come together as a humanitarian community and build capacity to respond stronger than before," Muller said. Endi

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