Health Minister Delivers Statement at World Health Assembly

OFFICE OF THE
PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION UNIT

MEDIA RELEASE 28-05-12-GH

Health Minister Delivers Statement at World Health Assembly

The Minister for Health and Medical Services, Hon. Charles Sigoto (Solomon Islands) has the delivered the country’s statement at the main plenary of the 65th World Health Assembly (WHA) on Wednesday 23rd May in Geneva, Switzerland.

In his statement, Hon Sigoto among others, informed the Meeting of the ongoing constraints and challenges Solomon Islands faces in delivering adequate health services to the majority of the population, most of who reside in rural and remote villages and islands.

“My country suffers from the double burden of communicable disease and the newly declared Non Communicable Disease epidemic. We also continue to face the challenge of reaching the majority of our people who live in the many remote rural tiny islands and the larger rugged volcanic islands,” Hon Sigoto told the Conference.

“We are also recovering from an ethnic crisis that basically had badly affected our economy in 2000 and especially the ability of the Government to deliver adequate health services,” he added.

The Minister informed the Conference that despite these challenges, Solomon Islands has developed strategies and initiatives with the support and assistance of donors and development partners to address the country’s priorities in health services and programmes.

He further stated that Solomon Islands has made significant progress with the help of important partners like the World Health Organization in the reduction of Malaria in the country and especially in two of the country’s Elimination pilot Provinces.

Minister Sigoto further noted that in one of the Elimination Provinces (namely Isabel) the Annual Parasitic Incidence of Malaria has reduced from more than 400 cases per 1000 population to less than 1 case per 1000 population.

This, he said was a significant achievement and part of the reason for such result was due to a concerted partnership between the Isabel traditional tribal leaders, Council of Chiefs, the Provincial Government and the Anglican Church of Melanesia, especially driven by the Mothers Union, a powerful women’s group that has been advocating and promoting tidy villages for some years now in that Province.

Minister Sigoto on behalf of Solomon Islands expressed his deep gratitude to the WHO Director General, Margret Chan for her excellent leadership, who has been re-appointed for another five-year term to lead the World Health Body.

The WHA Conference was concluded on Saturday 26th May 2012.

ENDS

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