Empower Pacific questions MHMS on promised funds

BY MAVIS NISHIMURA PODOKOLO

EMPOWER Pacific in Solomon Islands has called on the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) to release the promised funds in 2017 to support the organisation run its services.

It is understood the organisation has no funds to deliver it services in terms of psychological and social services to the nine clinics in Honiara and the National Referral Hospital.

A person from Empower Pacific said the MHMS promised funding in 2017 for the organisation to continue its services in the country soon after their funded contract under AusAid through DFAT ended at the end of 2016, but it never happened.

Since then conversations have been made between the ministry and the organisation, but apart from paying for the electricity bill and providing an office space, MHMS has not delivered the promised funds.

“This simply means that physical and social issues aren’t priority issues of the Ministry at the moment.

“However attention should be given on the importance of psychological and social issues but at the moment it is not been acknowledged by the Ministry of Health. It’s been neglected,” said the insider.

He said the ministry should see the importance of this matter because it’s fairly typical every hospital has social issues, hence extra support is needed as if good support is rendered in terms of counselling and stress management they (patients) will feel better quicker.

Empower Pacific is a Fiji-based organisation and has its branch was introduced in Solomon Islands early this year.

It delivers services based on psychosocial support services in various health facilities around the country.

Discover more from Theislandsun

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading