BY LORETTA B MANELE
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) there is a 10 million deficit of health workforce.
Dr Paul Popora Bosawai, Minister of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) stressed this in parliament on Monday, December 8, 2025 when responding to Member of Parliament for East Choiseul, Manasseh Sogavare’s question as to why three health consultants have left the country.
Sogavare voiced that the departure of these health consultants doesn’t speak well in regards to the health services of this country.
“Anyone should know exactly what the reason why the health consultants are leaving because this affects the delivery health services,” he said.
Bosawai in turn, stated that as per the WHO, there is a 10 million deficit of health workforce and this has created a vacuum.
“A vacuum that flows towards such a stronger economy. It’s not only Solomon Islands that we’re going to face this health workers’ migration,” he said.
Bosawai explained that the movement of health workforce due to deficiency in that workforce is happening across the region and the globe.
He mentioned that it is very obvious that our medical doctors and practitioners and health workforce are very marketable and attractive.
Moreover, Bosawai said if you look microscopically into the arrangements of how we train our medical doctors, we have the whole system up to five years or so.
He added that after five years, they have the freedom to move wherever they want and also that is, if they have completed their contract.
Bosawai told parliament that there are actually two binding principles, of which one is training our health workforce with the funding system and secondly, with the contract we currently have for them.
On this note, he said from his perspective, there are two ways to control the movement of those in our health workforce.
“If I could let this house know of my reactive way to control this, there are two ways. We train them and we treat them well.
“Second one is that we need to go with some discomfort in our amendment of our laws considering the importance of our health workforce across the country.
“And another one is what is in my mind; on the other side of the house and my good colleagues on the side of the fence is to address the tax that the health workforce in terms of their pay and as well as addressing the contract,” said the Health Minister.
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