The Minister for Health and Medical Services Dr Paul Popora Bosawai has thanked the people and Government of Australia following Thursday’s announcement by the Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy of Australia’s five year health support to the country’s health sector under the ‘Partnerships for a Healthy Region’ initiative.
He said, under the initiative the Australian Government will work closely with partner countries in Asia and the Pacific to build resilient, equitable and inclusive health systems that can respond to the shared challenges and shared visions and goals in progressing and enhancing health systems and services.
“Our Region, the Pacific, and our country Solomon Islands face a looming triple threat posed by NCDs, mental health conditions, and climate change and as such we are overwhelmingly vulnerable to this triple threat.However,we together as partners, can take urgent action to protect the health of our region, and our country to make a difference.
“Notwithstanding the importance of the health sector to our economy, we still see underinvestment in the health sector. Thus, I am thankful to the people and Government of Australia for the announcement of this new opportunity, and I am further grateful to the Government of Australia who continuously inspires us to take action to secure the health of our Region including that of our country.”
Minister Bosawai said, the new program that Minister Conroy announced is part of the Australian Government’s five-year AUD $620 million Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative, which will be working with partner countries in the Pacific and Southeast Asia to build resilient, equitable and inclusive health systems that can respond to our shared challenges but also shared vision and common goal in progressing and enhancing health systems and health services,”said Minister Bosawai.
Investments under this new initiative will improve the following health outcomes:
- Communicable disease prevention and control to ensure that Solomon Islands has improved ability to anticipate, prevent, detect, and control communicable disease threats.
- Non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention and control to ensure that Solomon Islands is supported to better prevent and control non-communicable diseases.
- Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) to ensure that Solomon Islands is supported to advance inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights, particularly for women and girls.
- Resilient health systems to ensure that Solomon Islands has improved capabilities, resources, regulatory mechanisms, and systems to meet their country’s health needs.
- Effective partnerships and delivery to ensure that our bilateral partner, Australia’s health assistance is valued, flexible, responsive and projects our neighbouring Australian health expertise into the Asia Pacific region.
“As a beneficiary to this new initiative, it is my hope that it will not only provide an opportunity for all of us, but hopefully is matched with meaningful and tangible resources for implementation that will make a difference to improve health services in Solomon Islands. Only then, will we be able to say that we are winners in the journey of this initiative,” said Minister Bosawai.
- MHMS
