By EDDIE OSIFELO
OPPOSITION Leader Matthew Wale is urging communities in Malaita to take up vaccination due to the slow roll out there.
This is in light of the overall slow roll out in the whole country.
Speaking at the special adjournment in Parliament yesterday, Wale said there is a need to double, may be even triple the resources allocated to this all important aspect of our preparedness.
“I call on communities that have misgivings about the vaccines to at least be open to an honest facts based conversation about them.
“I especially call on Malaita communities that I hear are resisting vaccination to accept a process of dialogue about their fears to ensure that the safety of the country is not jeopardized by the irrational fears of some,” he said.
“I am aware that in Malaita some have been spreading alarm about the vaccines based on fearmongering that is probably driven by political paranoia.
“I call on all such people to embrace the facts and science about vaccines, and allow all eligible Malaitans to receive the vaccines,” he said.
Furthermore, Wale said the government must urgently also roll-out vaccines for 12 to 17 year olds.
He said this is such a sizeable chunk of our demographics, so that they are able to realistically aim for 90% of our population.
In addition, Wale said the healthcare system is at breaking point, even without having to cope with community transmission of covid-19.
He said the Health committee’s report on the implementation of the 2009 recommendations show there are serious structural weaknesses in our healthcare system, particularly at the NRH.
“These matters have been postponed for so many years.
“How many more years should government postpone action on these matters for?” he asked.
“Who should be held accountable for this neglect?
“Nobody in government seems to take responsibility for this very important matter. No amount of drip feeding of resources will address these issues,” he said.
Wale said the current healthcare system was crafted in the 1970s for a national population of around 200,000.
He said there is need for serious significant investment in the healthcare sector which must include radical structural reforms to give the country any realistic chance of having a better quality healthcare system.
