With just five years remaining before the 2030 deadline for The People’s Plan, Vanuatu resets its policy agenda. Less than half of the National Sustainable Development Plan (NSDP) targets are implemented, and development pressures from both within and beyond its shores continue to build up. The Vanuatu government is recognizing that business-as-usual is no longer an option.

2025’s Government Policy Priorities marks a deliberate move from broad, overambitious commitments to a more focused, integrated, and targeted agenda centred on people, the environment, and service delivery. This is the third phase of the wider Resetting the National Agenda strategy launched in 2023, following a national summit between the government and its stakeholders. If implemented effectively, 2025 stands to be a critical turning point in Vanuatu’s development journey.

Launched in 2016, the People’s Plan (NSDP) earns early praise for its inclusive design, alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and strong emphasis on equity. However, a midterm review by DSPPAC, VNSO, and key ministries shows that only 45% of NSDP targets have made meaningful progress by 2021. The culprits are overambitious targets, weak intersectoral coordination, limited provincial capacity, and chronic underinvestment in basic services.

These challenges are exacerbated by structural constraints. Vanuatu remains one of the most climate-exposed nations in the world. A string of Category 5 cyclones (Judy, Kevin, and Lola), combined with pandemic-induced shocks, continues to expose the fragility of Vanuatu’s economic base and the limits of its reliance on tourism, remittances, and aid.

In response, the government convenes the 2023 National Summit to realign stakeholder expectations and refocus the People’s Plan going into the future. Out of this process, three policy prongs emerge: 1) governance reforms, 2) resilient infrastructure and economic growth, and 3) resilient people and environment. These prongs guide annual planning cycles: 2023 focuses on reform, 2024 on economic recovery, and 2025 on people and the environment.

At the heart of the 2025 agenda lies a clear conviction that resilience starts with people. This is not just rhetoric—it forms the basis of policy. For the first time since independence, the government places human development particularly health, education, water, sanitation, and local governance at the centre of its development strategy.

This shift is intentional. The 2025 policy document acknowledges that past policy has favoured infrastructure and economic growth at the expense of essential services. In doing so, it creates fragile gains: roads are built, but maintenance is inconsistent; buildings go up, but service delivery lags behind. The 2025 agenda seeks to rebalance these efforts by investing in the ‘software’ of development—institutions, frontline services, and people.

To operationalize this reorientation, the government allocates 50% of its fiscal space to social sector outcomes. These include access to quality education in all six provinces, stronger healthcare systems, improved early childhood development, and expanded water and energy infrastructure. The government also places greater emphasis on cultural revitalization, proposing a national cultural hub in TAFEA Province and a National Forum on Culture, Society, and Environment to be held on Tanna.

Strengthening indigenous governance systems is another important feature. The government works with traditional chiefs and custom owners to align local authority with state service delivery. This is not about replacing state systems but integrating traditional and formal governance to improve participation, reduce land disputes, and boost community ownership.

Importantly, this people and environment-focused reset does not signal a retreat from infrastructure. 20% of the 2025 budget remains dedicated to resilient infrastructure—roads, airfields, ports, and renewable energy systems. The emphasis shifts, however, from simply increasing access to ensuring sustainability and climate resilience. Greater attention is given to disaster-risk standards and service integration.

To supplement its public expenditure, the government pursues Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a means to mobilize additional resources. A new PPP law is in development, aimed at encouraging investment in economic infrastructure and service delivery, especially in underserved rural areas. Whether this translates into meaningful private sector engagement remains to be seen—but it represents a step toward reducing dependence on aid and loans.

Across the board, institutional capacity and coordination emerge as key themes. The government now recognizes that it cannot deliver the People’s Plan alone. The NSDP Acceleration Framework clarifies the roles of national ministries, provincial governments, and area councils. Each is expected to develop three-year action plans and submit annual implementation reports. Oversight rests with steering committees for the economic, social, and environmental strategies, chaired by directors-general.

Some may say, the goals are ambitious to move from strategy to results, and from results to outcomes, all within the remaining five-year window. A reduction in the number of policy priorities—from seven to four—is intended to facilitate tighter focus, clearer accountability, and better monitoring. Still, major capacity gaps persist at the provincial level. Whether these subnational actors receive sufficient resources and support to meet the moment is an open question.

As always, implementation will be the ultimate test. The 2025 budget includes clear allocations by outcome area—a first for Vanuatu—and signals intent. But translating policy into progress will require not just funding, but coordination, commitment, and follow-through—especially in provinces that remain underserved and under-resourced.

Nevertheless, the 2025 reset is a welcome shift. It reflects a move from aspiration to action, from centralized control to shared responsibility, and from development for the people to development with the people. If sustained, this could finally bring Vanuatu closer to realizing the vision of a “stable, sustainable, and prosperous” future by 2030.

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