THE Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) have signed a Record of Discussions that will boost maternal healthcare in Solomon Islands.
The MHMS Permanent Secretary Pauline McNeil and the KOICA Country Director Kapchae Ra signed the documents at the World Health Organization Country Representative office recently.
The four-year project, which commenced last year, aims to improve the health condition of mothers and newborns in five target provinces – Honiara, Guadalcanal, Western, Central and Malaita Provinces.
The project is worth USD 5 five million and this funding is channeled through the WHO Representative Office in Solomon Islands.
During the visit, KOICA also signed an additional USD 1 million new support for a bilateral component directly with MHMS.
The MHMS PS expressed gratitude for the timely support from the Korean Government and underlined the importance of this project for the health and wellbeing of mothers, babies and children in Solomon Islands.
“Solomon Islands is making steady progress to improving maternal and child health, but we need our strategic health partners to step in so we can improve the access to quality of services for our mothers, newborns and children and ultimately improved health outcomes as aligned to our National Health Strategic Plan 2022-2031.
“KOICA’s support, will definitely improve and strengthen our systems to access quality health care services including the improvement of timely referral pathways of our pregnant mothers and newborns.”
Mr Ra also expressed his gratitude to the MHMS PS for her dedication and leadership in the health sector.
“We are delighted to announce our commitment to support the Ministry of Health and Medical Services in Solomon Islands with a significant contribution of USD 6 million.
“Specifically, we are seeking your ministry’s collaboration to enhance sea/vehicle ambulance procurement processes, aimed at improving the delivery experience for pregnant mothers and sick babies. Your close support and commitment to ownership and accountability for this project is highly valued,” he said.
(MHMS/SOLSTAR)
