Please refer to the attached file. The Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), in partnership with UNOPS, has officially launched the “Roadmap for Health and Coastal Infrastructure Resilience of the Marshall Islands.” The newly released Roadmap provides an evidence-based framework designed to ensure that essential health services and coastal assets remain functional and accessible during extreme weather events and rising sea levels. Developed through detailed gap assessments and climate readiness evaluations, the initiative translates local vulnerability data into actionable long-term infrastructure planning for the Marshallese government. The framework is aligned with national policies and priorities, including the National Strategic Plan, National Adaptation Plan, National Infrastructure Investment Plan and the Sustainable Development Goals. It also sets out prioritised actions, financing pathways and institutional responsibilities to support coordinated resilience investments. To deliver tangible outcomes for local communities, implementation will focus on six core strategic priorities. The framework addresses long-term operations and maintenance management, climate-proofing outer island health clinics, and establishing an integrated geospatial asset and hazard information system. Additionally, the plan prioritizes scaling up nature-based coastal protection, strengthening emergency shelter readiness, and delivering phased resilience upgrades along the Majuro Airport to Laura Road corridor. Gender equality, disability, and social inclusion are integrated across the strategic framework. Through the application of universal design principles and inclusive infrastructure planning, future investments in health facilities, coastal protection, emergency shelters, and other essential infrastructure can support safe and equitable access for women, men, persons with disabilities, older people and other community members. Marking the formal completion of the project’s assessment phase, the launch event brought together Secretary-level leadership from the Ministry of Health and Human Services (MoHHS) and the Ministry of Public Works, Infrastructure, and Utilities (MPWIU), alongside representatives from the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and UNOPS management. “For the Ministry, this Roadmap comes at a very useful time. In the Marshall Islands, almost every infrastructure decision is affected by where and how we live. We build on narrow strips of land. We work in a highly corrosive marine environment. We deal with flooding, erosion, saltwater, high waves, and limited space. At the same time, we have to serve communities spread across many islands and atolls. So for us, resilience is not an abstract idea. It is a very, very practical question, ” said Walter Myazoe, Secretary of the Ministry of Public Works, Infrastructure and Utilities (MPWIU). “The Roadmap can only show us the direction, but we all have to take this journey together. We have to build resilience into the way we design, budget, construct, maintain and deliver health services. I hope this Roadmap is seen not as the finish line of a planning process, but as the beginning of a stronger partnership between health and public works” said Francyne Wase-Jacklick, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Human Services (MoHHS). “The launch of this Roadmap marks an important step towards strengthening the resilience of health and coastal infrastructure in the Marshall Islands. For Small Island Developing States, where communities and critical infrastructure face significant climate and disaster risks, resilience needs to be integrated into infrastructure planning and investment from the outset. CDRI is proud to fund this project through the Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund, helping translate vulnerability assessments and local priorities into a practical roadmap for resilient infrastructure investment. We hope the Roadmap will help the Marshall Islands protect essential services, strengthen communities and build long-term resilience to a changing climate, ” said Ramesh Subramaniam, Global Director – Programmes & Strategy, CDRI. “This Roadmap transitions our shared efforts from technical gap assessments to long-term, actionable infrastructure planning. By establishing clear national priorities from climate-proofing outer island health clinics to strengthening asset maintenance systems, we are equipping the Marshall Islands with a strategic blueprint to guide resilient investments and ensure essential services remain uninterrupted during climate shocks. ” said Nicholas George, Director of UNOPS South East Asia and the Pacific Multi Country Office. UNOPS extends its gratitude to the Governments of India, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and to the European Union, for their financial support through the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure’s Infrastructure Resilience Accelerator Fund (CDRI IRAF).
Republic of the Marshall Islands Launches Strategic Roadmap for Health and Coastal Infrastructure Resilience
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