DEAR EDITOR, in the Western Pacific Region, the Solomon Islands is rated as having low coverage of essential services in the health sector and currently major challenges remain in overall service capacity and in infectious disease and in combatting non-communicable disease (NCD).
Despite such known setbacks, Solomon Islands is now included among 10 countries with the most the most significant improvement in under five mortality rates between 2017 and 2018.
According to UNICEF, the improvements were due to better antenatal care, increased immunisation rates, more government health spending and more coordination amongst donors.
UNICEF’s Pacific Representative, Sheldon Yett, has said for the positive trend to continue their needed to be an even greater priority on improving access to health services, promotion of breast feeding, good nutrition, and access to clean water as well as basic sanitation.
(Quoting extracts from a Radio New Zealand news broadcast on 19 September 2018).
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
