Pacific Islands Forum health stakes: The 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau has opened in turmoil, with nearly a third of key leaders absent and tensions spilling over from China–Taiwan disputes—raising worries that regional action on health workforce support and other public priorities could be sidelined. Smaller island health focus: Smaller Island States leaders, including Kiribati President Taneti Maamau joining virtually from Tarawa, agreed to push joint work on health workforce mechanisms alongside transport, fisheries, procurement and access to climate finance. El Niño water, food and health risk: Pacific communities are bracing for El Niño, with warnings that drought and flooding can quickly turn into unsafe drinking water and disease spread, especially for children; in Kiribati, past testing found most households had unsafe or likely unsafe water from bacterial contamination. Digital health link: A major East Micronesia Cable project is set to improve reliable internet for Tarawa and other Micronesian communities, supporting essential services and connectivity for health and wellbeing. PALM welfare gap: A new look at the PALM labour mobility welfare support system says it is extensive on paper but poorly understood and weakly connected in practice.