Pacific Families in a Crisis: When the Price of Fuel Becomes the Price of Childhood

Pacific families in a crisis: When the price of fuel becomes the price of childhood

The link between fuel prices and child wellbeing is easy to trace. When fuel prices rise, bus and boat operators raise fares, cut routes or stop running. Children miss school when transport becomes unaffordable, as the Pacific has seen in past price shocks. Families delay preventive health visits.

When the price of fuel becomes the price of childhood: Pacific families in a crisis

When Pacific leaders consider invoking the Biketawa Declaration, the region’s highest collective crisis framework, last used for the COVID-19 pandemic response, it is a clear sign that the fuel crisis is no ordinary disruption. For the Pacific’s children and families, it is already turning up in day-to-day decisions like how to stretch meals, whether a child can attend school and which essentials get left for next week. As fuel prices rise globa…