BY NED GAGAHE
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS), in partnership with the Solomon Islands–Australia Health Partnership, has concluded the first Guadalcanal Provincial Health Summit, bringing together health leaders and stakeholders to chart practical solutions to improve healthcare services across the province.
Held at CAM conference room at Mataniko Plaza from June 29 to July 3, 2026, the five-day summit attracted around 30 participants from the health sector, Guadalcanal Provincial Government, development partners and community representatives.
The summit, themed “A Healthy Future for All: Tok Stori, Local Voices, Local Solutions,” forms part of the Ministry’s national health sector reform agenda, which will see similar summits conducted across all nine provinces and Honiara City Council.
Opening the summit, Director of Planning and Policy at MHMS, Brian Idufanoa, said the National Health Strategic Plan 2022–2031 remains the ministry’s roadmap to improve health services, with primary healthcare at the centre of its priorities.
He said strengthening primary healthcare is essential to achieve Universal Health Coverage, ensuring all Solomon Islanders have access to quality health services without financial hardship.
Mr Idufanoa said the introduction of Provincial Health Performance Scorecards will improve monitoring, accountability and evidence-based decision-making, while supporting ongoing reforms such as decentralisation and the devolution of authority to provincial governments.
“It is important that participants are fully engaged, reflecting on your experiences and technical capacity to provide the best inputs into the summit. More so, having our rural people, who are the most disadvantaged, at the centre of the discussions is paramount for addressing many of the health challenges,” he said.
Also addressing the opening ceremony, Guadalcanal Provincial Secretary Maesac Suia acknowledged the long-standing challenges facing healthcare delivery in the province.
He said rundown clinics and staff houses, shortages of medicines, inadequate water and sanitation, limited emergency patient transfers, staff shortages, high malaria cases, and high maternal and infant mortality continue to affect communities.
Mr Suia said the summit provides an important opportunity to strengthen partnerships, promote informed decision-making and develop community-led solutions.
“The Guadalcanal Provincial Government recognises that investing in health is investing in the future of our province,” he said.
He reaffirmed the provincial government’s commitment to strengthen primary healthcare, improve rural health infrastructure, develop the health workforce and ensure quality health services are accessible to all communities.
Mr Suia welcomed the planned development of a Provincial Health Performance Scorecard and practical improvement plans, saying these will strengthen planning, resource allocation and progress monitoring in line with both the National Health Strategic Plan and Guadalcanal Provincial Government policies.
He also acknowledged MHMS for leading the initiative and thanked the Solomon Islands–Australia Health Partnership, supported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), for its continued technical and financial assistance.
The summit also featured remarks from Dr Tristan Armstrong, Counsellor for Human Development at the Australian High Commission in Honiara, representing the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and an overview of provincial health services from Guadalcanal Provincial Health Director Dr Ray Seleso.
During the five-day programme, participants reviewed provincial health indicators, assessed the province’s 2025 health financial performance, discussed primary healthcare system assessments, and received training on Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI), climate change, Root Cause Analysis and the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) planning model.
The Provincial Health Summit aims to produce Provincial Health Performance Scorecards and prioritise improvement plans to strengthen primary healthcare and support implementation of the National Health Strategic Plan 2022–2031.
Photo credit: GP
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