By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs has announced $4.3 million in fiscal year (FY) 2023 Technical Assistance Program grant funding that will support healthcare for populations from the nuclear-affected atolls in the Marshall Islands, youth education and outreach, judicial training, natural resource conservation, and weather forecasting for climate change resilience in the Pacific insular areas.
“We are pleased to support these cross-cutting programs that touch on a wide variety of issues that are important to the Insular Areas,” said Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor. “The funding this year will support health programs for nuclear-affected populations, youth education, judicial training, weather forecasting for climate change resilience, natural resource conservation, and more.”
Technical Assistance Program grant awards totaling $4,279,808 will be awarded to Insular Areas governments or non-profit organizations as follow, with one project being funded in collaboration with the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit as follows:
$1,302,077 to the Marshall Islands Ministry of Health and Human Services for the Section 177 Health Care 4 Atolls Program. The above figure supplements the first half of FY 2023 funding in the amount of $938,148 that was awarded in February for a grand total of $2,240,225 for the Section 177 Health Care 4 Atolls Program in FY 2023.
$378,078 to the government of Guam to fund the travel of territorial staff to the Territorial Climate and Infrastructure Workshops (TCIW) for 2023 and 2024. This funding will support travel costs for government officials from American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to the TCIW. The 2023 TCIW was held in Honolulu from March 8 to 12, 2023.
For non-profit organizations
$631,590 to the Prior Service Trust Fund (PSTF) Benefit Payments Program for retired employees of the former Government of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. PSTF beneficiaries hail from the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau.
$520,977 to the Junior State of America Foundation for the Insular Areas Youth Civic Education Program for students from all the Insular Areas.
$497,882 to the Pacific Mission Aviation’s Helping Our Pacific Economy program to fund an aircraft and hangar maintenance and repair program on Yap and Palau as well as provide equipment for repair of airstrips on Woleai and Fais islands in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia.
$250,000 to We Are Oceania in Honolulu for the Youth Empowerment Center project to support students from the freely associated states residing in Hawai’i.
$227,542 to the University of Hawai’i Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System for the Dynamical Downscaling for El Niño Events for Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and for Improved Atmospheric Forecasts for the Pacific Insular Areas using state-of-the-art data assimilation.
$60,480 to the Tåno Tåsi yan Todu organization for projects that link science and conservation to the community, elevate indigenous knowledge and language on science and conservation and will fund a Marianas Islands Conservation Conference in 2024 and 2025.
$411,182 will be provided through a Reimbursable Support Agreement to the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit to fund the Pacific Islands Judicial Education Programs in the Pacific Territories and Palau.
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