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I read conflicting info on the malnutrition aspect.  Some reports confirm the findings below, others insist that Solomons Islanders are amazingly healthy and NOT malnourished enjoying a healthy diet of fish, fruit etc.    There's no dispute in the various reports I read about the betel nut-cancer connection or high blood pressure though.

http://solomonstarnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8623&change=71&changeown=78&Itemid=26

HUNDREDS of children, women and men from Burns Creek area yesterday received free medical services from the Taiwanese medical team.

The team returned from Malaita yesterday and went to Burns Creek and attended to various illnesses.

Team leader Dr Jeffrey Chih-Fu Chan said the most common sickness affecting children in the area is malnutrition.

He said public health is very important.

“People need to take care of themselves and practice living in a clean environment.”

Education is also very important, Dr Chan said.

He said apart from providing medical services, the team shared knowledge and experience with the local doctors and nurses.

“It is impossible to carry out health care in just a short time so we are working together with the local nurses and doctors and exchange experience and knowledge.”

In Malaita Province, more than a thousand people turned up for the team’s medical service.

Dr Chan said tooth decay is one of the common health problems in communities they visited in Malaita.

“Betel chewing is one of the major factors contributing to tooth decay,” he said. 

He said at Malu’u, north Malaita, a lot of people have high blood pressure.

The team visits Good Samaritan Hospital in East Guadalcanal today.
The Taiwan Medical Service Mission comprised of members from International Cooperation and Development Fund (Taiwan ICDF), Chi Mei Medical Centre and Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUH).

Kaohsiung has a sister relationship with the National Referral Hospital (NRH) since 2006.

They leave on May 1st.

By MARY KIVO