And related article: http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/2010/January/01-26-18.htm

PACIFIC ISLANDS REPORT
Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center
With Support From Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of Hawai‘i
________________________________________
ANOTHER NEW PARTY LAUNCHES IN SOLOMONS

Leaders call for ‘respect for independence and sovereignty’

By Eddie Osifelo

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (Solomon Star, Jan. 25, 2010) - A political which claims it will advance the interest of Solomon Islanders in all aspect of developments was launched on Friday in Honiara.
It is called Autonomous Solomon Islanders Party.
The party launched its thin manifesto and constitution inside the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) conference room.
It aims to achieve ideals of respect for the independence and sovereignty, and return of this country’s ownership to locals if it comes into power after this year’s election.
Vice president of the Party, former politician Jackson Sunaone told a gathering of supporters the current system has deprived Solomon Islanders from their resources.
"We have become beggars and strangers in our own land because of this political system we adopt," Mr. Sunaone said.
He said if his party comes into power, they will try to change the system.
"Our people own the resources and they have the rights to benefit from them," he said.
"Therefore, they should be the main beneficiaries from their resources."
Guest speaker Dennis Lulei told the party members to be God fearing leaders.
Mr. Lulei said leaders must be clean morally, physical and spiritually.
"People of this nation are crying for good leadership," he said.
"As such leaders need to show servanthood and stewardship."
Mr. Lulei, also a former politician, said the greatest challenge facing this country is poverty and degradation.
"Why is it so?" he asked.
"If we don’t have good leaders, we will be poor in everything."
Solomon Star: http://www.solomonstarnews.com/
Copyright © 2010 Solomon Star. All Rights Reserved

Kangaroo meat hope for Pacific obesity

Last Updated: 20 hours 16 minutes ago

Pacific Island countries which import fatty cuts of meat could help combat the obesity epidemic in the region if they replaced those cuts of meat with kangaroo.

That's according to the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia, which says at the moment the only real market for kangaroo meat in the Pacific is Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and a few upmarket hotels in other island countries.

The Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia executive officer John Kelly told Radio Australia's Pacific beat program that kangaroo meat is a healthier alternative to lamb flaps.

"It's less than 2 per cent fat, half of the fat that is there is polyunsaturated so it's good for you anyway," he said.

"It's also been shown to be high in a compound called conjugated linoleic acid which does a whole lot of good things for you but importantly it activrly reduces blood pressure."

Solomon Islands: Telekom install free emergency line

The National Disaster Council has thanked Our Telekom for supporting its Munda-based Emergency Operations Centre with free communication facilities.

Our Telekom last Thursday installed a telephone and fax line at the office.

Our Telekom's Manager for Western Province Robertson Szetu has confirmed the support is its contribution to the operations and 'all charges are to be waived'.

"The telephone and fax lines are a 'donation' to assist in the earthquake disaster in the area," he told NDMO in an email today from Gizo.

He added the lines will assist NDC carry out its work from Munda for 2 weeks starting on the date they were installed.

Responding to the good gesture, NDMO's Chief Administration Officer, Janet Prakash, said NDMO acknowledges this with deep gratitude.

"The assistance you have rendered has gone in a very big way to ease the communication difficulties the Munda Operations Centre has faced in the first initially," she said.

She added the support had truly made information flow between Munda and Honiara smoother.

As I just learned from Mayo Clinic's website, it can be caused by bacteria or a virus.  If bacterial, you can cure it with antibiotic drops.  If viral, you have to wait it out but I have heard that warm compresses on the eyes help to get the ooze (not a technical term) out better.  I've had it once or twice and it's really uncomfortable.

More info from Mayo Clinic's website:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pink-eye/DS00258

GENERAL INFORMATION

On the morning of 4 January 2010, two earthquakes—magnitude 6.5 and 7.2, with epicentres West South West of the island of Honiara—struck the Solomon Islands within an hour of each other. The earthquakes generated a tsunami that hit the southern and northern coast of the islands of Rendova and Tetepare. The large wave and landslides damaged houses and boats on both islands.
One day later (5 January), an aftershock measured at magnitude 6.9 struck, damaging houses around the Marovo lagoon.

HEALTH IMPACT

Around 4 887 people were living in affected areas. Landslides have occurred and have afftected the water supplies in the areas of Sombu, Hopongo, Havila, Mbaniata, Retavo, Rano, Hosuzo, Vanikua, and Bangopiqo.
Identified immediate needs include:
·    Clean food
·    Safe water
·    Hazard analysis
·    Provision of health services to affected people

Other current health issues are:
·    Diarrhoea cases noted in Hopongo, Havila, and Mbaniata
·    Red eye cases noted in Rano, Mbaniata, Retavo, Ella Beach, Hosuzo, Vanikua, and Bangopipo
·    Cases of trauma, cough, colds and other flu-like symptoms were noted in all affected villages.
·    No specific numbers are currently available.

Casualties
No deaths or serious injuries have been reported as of 11 January 2010.

RESPONSE

Government Response

The Solomon Islands Government has sent relief goods and assessment teams and is preparing a recovery action plan to be ready by 12 January. The Government continues to coordinate with nongovernmental and international partners for possible aid.

International Response

International partners have provided non-food items, water, sanitation, and hygiene items and assessment support. Concerned governments have also sent financial aid.

WHO Response

WHO continues to coordinate with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in the Solomon Islands for the provision of additional aid and services that may be needed and has presently deployed a surveillance tool for early identification and management of impending health crises. WHO staff members are also participating in the assessment of daily situation and the prophylactic measures that have been put in place. Health promotion materials and hygiene items have been distributed.

Sources
National Disaster Council Situation Report No. 5, 8 January 2010

For further information please contact:
WHO Solomon Islands
Dr William Adu-Krow
Country Liaison Officer
Tel : (677) 23406
Fax: (677) 21344
Email: adukroww@wpro.who.int
 
WHO Regional Office
Dr Arturo Pesigan
Tel: (632) 528 9810
Fax: (632) 528 9072
Email: pesigana@wpro.who.int      

Buka hospital is closed after boat hijacking

BY ALOYSIUS LAUKAI

Buka hospital has temporarily closed its Outpatients and Emergency Section after its boat was hijacked by six gunmen in the early hours of yesterday morning.

In making the announcement, hospital CEO, Dr Banabas Matanu, said this was the sixth hijacking and the hospital cannot continue to operate under such conditions.

The outpatients department will remain closed and major operations will be postponed for a week.Dr Matanu appealed to government authorities to assist the hospital with security.

Most nurses and doctors live on Sohano island and must go by boat to move to and from work.

The National Doctors. Association, Nurses Association and their members all opted to take this stand.

Dr Matanu warned that if the boat is not returned, the hospital will be closed indefinitely. All sick people seeking medical attention have been asked to use village clinics.

Solomons main hospital a national disgrace

Updated January 11, 2010 17:01:01

The condition of Solomon Islands' National Referral Hospital in Honiara and medical services its provides are labelled as sub-standard and worse than a national disgrace. This was how Peter Boyers, the chairman of a Parliamentary Select Committee inquiry into the situation at the Hospital summed up the committee's finding. The Parliamentary Select Committee report was presented to Parliament just before Christmas after eight months of hearings and investigations. Mr Boyers said when presenting the report to parliament that the government must urgently act to address the parlous state of the country's main hospital as pointed out in the report. Sam Seke asked Mr Boyers why it was necessary to carry out the inquiry into the services and condition of the National Referral Hospital.

Presenter: Sam Seke

Speaker:Peter Boyers, the MP for West New Georgia

BOYERS: Well as everyone knows the level of service at the hospital is substandard, so it was an opportunity for a select committee to look into the quality of the health services, find out where the systemic weaknesses are, what is perpetuating this problem, so that the government can then address them to improve the quality of health service at the hospital.

SEKE: In a nutshell, what was the finding of the parliamentary select committee inquiry into the National Referral Hospital?

BOYERS: Well basically, we do not have enough nurses, doctors and there is not adequate opportunities and of course budgetary issues. It is also capacity-building obviously within administration, an effective ordering and delivery of materials, the necessary equipment. They do not have necessary equipment. So it's a lack of adequate training for the staff. We're understaffed and the government has not really reacted on it and of course the donors are involved, like AusAid are doing quite a good job in addressing those issues. There are certain issues getting addressed, but there needs an urgent action taken on how to have the necessary staff in place. It is a budgetary issue mixed in with public service and I think the public service needs to take a very quick look at themselves and work out what they are doing in the country besides filling in posts and not taking action about making sure we have qualified personnel there.

SEKE: Now you were quoted as saying the situation at the National Referral Hospital was a national disgrace. Was that a fair comment. If so, why?

BOYERS: Well, I don't know what you term as a national disgrace, but I think the quality of service there is understated as a national disgrace. If you have ever been in it, you don't want to ever go back there again. As one of the public servants said when he said, I was in there and I had to get out as fast as I could. So when you have doors that are rotted off the toilets, and sort of bad smell and there is no beds and there is no mattresses and then there is people full up in the wards and the presence of doctors is not there and the nurses are over stretched. I mean it is basically that's why they call it Number 10 and Number 9 hospital, because Number 10 is classified as the cemetery, so it is what they call the last stop before you get buried.

SEKE: Now, health has always been a priority area for governments in Solomon Islands over the years. It gets, well I believe it gets a sizeable chunk of government budgetary allocation for and as you alluded to, it gets assistance from international donor agencies. But are you saying that's not sufficient?

BOYERS: Eh, look the Select Committee was investigating the National Referral Hospital. It was not investigating the national health system and one of the problems is while we've got problems with our National Referral Hospital, is because the peripheral of our health centres and clinics and rural hospitals are obviously are not capacitized and the people are not getting the necessary level of medical address they need and that is why the National Referral Hospital is becoming over stretched so to speak. So it is a complacency in the public service, it's complacency in the health system overall. The present administration of the PS and the undersecretary actually are on track. They have a strategic development plan. It is well articulated, addresses the issues, it is just a matter of how serious are we or the government in making it work. As far as health as a priority of the country, health should be priority number one, education number two, infrastructure number three and that's how it should be for a long, long time.

It's no good putting a reservation on health, because we have a revenue problem, a 20 per cent reservation on health expenditure when the government goes out and rents a building for foreign affairs for $150,000 a month.

SEKE: So where to next with your parliamentary select committee report on the National Referral Hospital? What's going to happen to it next?

BOYERS: Okay, well it's been tabled, we're going to be debating that in the March sitting and of course all the issues will come out. It's really the next step after that is that when of course parliament resolves in April, elections in July. The new government comes in. What would be ideal for another select committee to come in to and revisit the hospital, see what sort of improvement, as well as take on the rest of the hospitals in the country and probably some health centres and clinics, to also look at what is the weakness there. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work it out and I think we already know, But unless you have a proper report done on it no-one is going to take any notice.

SEKE: I think it would be fair to say that most committee reports are put on the shelves and forgotten after they have been presented to parliament. Do you feel have any fear that may be your report might suffer the same fate?

BOYERS: Well, as long as I am alive and I am an member of parliament, it is not going to happen, because obviously I can scream until it happens. But that is the general trend. It is the general trend that reports get put aside. I mean even in the foreign relations committee on the RAMSI review, there are certain issues there that have been starring us in the face and yet have not been addressed in this year's budget, even though the committee's report had come out in time for the police vehicles etc. logistics. It has not really been addressed in the budget and this is the problem. Is it a budgetary problem, is it bureaucratic issue, is it a lack of will and wear, is it like in the health select committee? We have worked with the administration and health? They are also very well aware, But at the end of the day, they are to subject to the Public Service Commission or Public Service Division or ministry as well as finance in their budgetary process.

Insightful and entertaining blog on traveling by boat in Melanesia and beyond.  Some cool pics too.

http://grahamandsue.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&updated-max=2010-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&max-results=13

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=49791

Solomon Islands’ Ministry of health says there have been some problems
with doctors sent from Cuba, but the issues are being resolved.

A review of Solomon Islands’ National Referral Hospital found the
doctors, who are working in the country under an agreement between
Cuba and the Solomon Islands Government, speak little English, and
can’t communicate with patients.

Dr Cedric Alependava, the under secretary for health improvement, says
the problem is being alleviated because the doctors are learning pidgin.

He says in the meantime they are unable to work after hours.

    “We thought they were going to work after hours to relive some pressure
on our local doctors but because they are not working after hours there does
seem to be a little bit of complaint. But then we are more or less utilising them
on public health programmes and outreach programmes. Pretty soon they’ll be
on board on after hours, because they are now beginning to speak Pidgin and
understand [how] to communicate with local people.”

Dr Cedric Alependava says a dermatologist from Cuba is expected to arrive in
Solomon Islands soon.

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