People on a tiny island in Kiribati say they've been without fresh water for three months and have resorted to drinking, bathing and cooking with contaminated water from a small cave.

More than a dozen Filipino sailors have now come forward to say they've been abandoned by a major shipping company in Fiji. A lawyer representing them claims the company has employed foreign workers to circumvent employing Fijians who would not accept the conditions.

One of PNG's most senior doctors is calling for authorities to call off tomorrow's state funeral for the late Sir Michael Somare, the country's first prime minister, amid rising COVID-19 cases.

The head of UNICEF in the Pacific says Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and other Pacific countries could join Fiji and begin receiving the first of their COVID-19 vaccines in coming weeks, through the global COVAX facility.

Four more Filipino sailors have come forward to accuse a Fiji shipping company of abandoning them, and a senior PNG doctor calls for Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare's state funeral to be called off as COVID-19 numbers climb.

Allegations of sexual assault levelled against staff in Australia's Parliament House in recent weeks have sparked many other women to also come forward and share their own experiences, including a former Australian foreign aid worker who says she was forced to kiss a senior male colleague during a work trip in Papua New Guinea.

A doctor at Port Moresby main hospital says health workers are fatigued and burning out as a result of increasing COVID-19 cases. Dr Mangu Kendino says a lockdown could give health workers breathing room and space for medical authorities to re-strategise.

A spike in COVID-19 cases in Bougainville is worrying nearby neighbours, with Solomon Islands' prime minister vowing to increase security measures at its shared border with Papua New Guinea, and promising to send vaccines to communities there.

Allegations of sexual harassment by an Australian aid worker has put the development sector in the spotlight. Health workers at Port Moresby's main hospital say they're fatigued and burning out from a surge in COVID-19 cases. Solomon Islands' increase security measures on its border as coronavirus infections increase in Bougainville.

COVID-19 travel restrictions are making it hard for two top Pacific women athletes to get into Australia, but negotiations have begun in the hope is they could be in the country by April.