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Health and medical services for women and girls

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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BY ALFRED PAGEPITU

GIZO

WESTERN province needs to improve access to health and medical services for women and girls in the province, according to a report.

According to the Western Province Women’s Empowerment and Transformation policy report, the province had 95 percent health coverage until 2015 and then where on average, 28 percent of health facilities in the province were closed.

Limited number of trained health workers including specialised doctors, the number of health facilities needing repair, lack of necessary medical equipment, poor conditions of health workers houses, inadequate funding targeting health services has deprived women and men of the province access to basic health services.

Therefore, due to cultural norms and expectation including gender roles of women and men, women tend to have more concerns and face more barriers to accessing basic health services and even more so for women living in the rural areas.

Problems reported by women in accessing health facilities range from concern that there will be no female health workers about 60 percent of rural women compared to 51 percent of urban women.

Communication training for Red Cross volunteers in Auki

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Some of the participants attending the communication workshop yesterday in Auki.

BY SAMIE WAIKORI

AUKI

Some of the participants attending the communication workshop on Monday in Auki.

RED Cross volunteers in Auki, Gizo and representatives from various stakeholders in Auki have gathered for a two-day communication training in Auki.

The training is mainly to teach and enhance the volunteers’ communication skills and knowledge to tell better stories during the course of their work.

Communication Manager for the International Federation of Red Cross, Ms Hanna Butter said in her presentation yesterday that it identified that there was a need for volunteers to have better skills and knowledge of storytelling.

She said the reason was that Red Cross volunteers usually on the site with people during or after the times of disaster.

Adding there were lot of good stories on what the people experience with the disaster and potential effects they might expect as a result of the disaster that need to be told.

However, Ms Butter said in order for the volunteers to tell good human disaster stories, they need to have proper skills and knowledge on how to make effective stories.

“So a brief detail of the training is to teach the participants how to pick and lookout for better stories, how to make or write it and finally how to communicate the stories.

“Because Red Cross volunteers are very important with the humanitarian work they provide during the course of disaster.

“And they can make good stories with the first-hand information receive or witness that need to communicate to people,” she said.

Butter reiterated that the training was to encourage participants with good communication skills and knowledge to do good communication or telling good stories during time of disaster.

The training started on Monday and will end today.

Disqualification of members

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

BY ELLISON VAHI

FORMER speaker for Makira Ulawa Province Mr Kaea Goldie has voiced concern on regarding to Provincial gov’t act section 15 sub clause F, G and I, with regards to the disqualification of members.

Speaking to the Island Sun, Kaea said that by looking at the section (15) has shown a very very silent resignation.

He said that with Common sense it has clearly state that once these people wants to enter National or Provincial, they must resign from their sits, because they are holding public offices.

He adds that What really or has practised since then is that provincial member in particular, once they intend to contest for the national or provincial election, they just walk in without resignation and whilst once they lose the election they then still return to their sits.

Kaea further voiced that if provincial assembly members are holding public office, ‘why did they not resign before joining the election?’

Kaea calls on to the ministry of home affairs to ensure that provincial assembly members who are intending to contend election must resign their sits before contending for the national elections.

Church of Melanesia eyes more training centres by 2020

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Diocesan secretary of the Anglican Diocese of Malaita, Anthony Maelasi.

BY GEORGE MANFORD

AUKI

Diocesan secretary of the Anglican Diocese of Malaita, Anthony Maelasi.

THE vision for year 2020 of the Anglican diocese of Malaita (DOM) is to be self-reliant concerning its development plans and visions.

Education is one of the priorities that the Anglican Diocese of Malaita is focusing on by introducing more schools in the regions within Malaita province.

This was said in a statement by the Diocesan secretary of the Anglican Diocese of Malaita Mr Anthony Maelasi during the ordination programme at Fiu last Sunday.

Maelasi said a new secondary school will be established soon at Ilikata land in central region in Malaita province.

He said plans have been already in place towards the establishment of this new secondary school and will be own by the diocese of Malaita.

“It becomes a national project of the Solomon Islands government under the ministry of education,” Maelasi said.

He also said three rural training centres (RTC) will be introduced in the northern region, eastern and southern region according to the DOM plans and visions for year 2020.

The idea is to introduce more skills training in those RTCs for school dropouts.

Maelasi also announces that DOM is currently working in partnership with the community of the sisters of the church (CSC) to set up its centre in Auki especially to address the social issues that are affecting the church today.

“We will continue to establish this initiative to create a better and a happy environment to all Christians.

“As we work along this journey with our visions and plans our commitment to our God will be most important both in our spiritual and physical developments.”

9th SINU talk on reform federal constitution of SI

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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BY MAVIS NISHIMURA PODOKOLO

THE Solomon Islands National University (SINU) ongoing initiative of dialogue will have its 9th   talk centered on reform federal constitution of Solomon Islands.

The speaker who will be speaking on the matter is Mr Angikinui Francis Tekatoha.

The talk will base on his research carried out in relation to Federal constitution of Solomon Islands, analysis of research data on the federal constitution drafting process and the draft constitution substance is informed by a post- modern framework.

The post-modern framework emphasises reform which seeks to replace the current Unitary Constitution with one firmly anchored in traditional cultures and governance;

This is basically a ‘Home-Grown’ Constitution which rejects the current modernistic structure of government and removes it from the knots of colonial concepts.

Mr Francis holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand (1990) and a Master’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology from London University, Goldsmith College in the UK (2002).

Currently he is working on a PhD research proposal which focuses on the reform federal constitution of the Solomon Islands.

The event will be held tomorrow, 5-7pm at the Kukum Campus Lecture Theatre.

Makira Ulawa to celebrate women’s week with action plan

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

DEAR EDITOR, in order to fully compliment upcoming Women’s Week celebrations, the President of the Provincial Council of Women, Mrs Jessica Ngere, has informed me of a detailed and comprehensive plan for activities to be held in Makira Ulawa Province during August to November 2018.

The idea behind the plan is to better empower women and for them to respond to socio-economic challenges faced by women in the province and to encourage women to take leadership and to make decisions at all levels in society.

I wish Mrs. Ngere well with the well thought out training programme and very much hope the outcomes will see the women of Makira Ulawa Province better informed, more encouraged and more empowered than ever before.

Yours sincerely

FRANK SHORT

Hydroponic crop cultivation in old shipping containers

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

DEAR EDITOR, as a follow-up to recent articles I have written to your newspaper on hydroponic farming methods I believe could usefully be undertaken in the Solomon Island to provide jobs, exports and improve livelihoods if adopted on a commercial scale with either SIG or foreign investment, I came across a very interesting promotional feature on Linkedin which I am happy to share with your readership.

Here is what the feature read (quote)

I would suggest any interested parties take a look at the website which I have mentioned.

“Make your farm inside refurbished old used shipping container. Retrofit 40-foot-long shipping containers and turn them into farms that yield as many leafy greens as 5 acres of farmland using very less water. 25 gallons of water a day is all it needs. Climate controls and LED grow lights also help nurture crops including butterhead lettuce, baby kale, Italian basil, and arugula with a wasabi-like kick. 4000 heads of lettuce can come from a single farm every 10 to 12 days. They grow from seed to full maturity in 30 days whereas outdoor farming takes at least 60 days. Containers can be placed near to the distribution/retail centers to save travel on supply chain. With an additional 2.5 billion people expected to live on planet earth by 2050, along with increased environmental stresses, productive farmland shrinking and a population migrating to cities, efficient urban farms have the opportunity to help feed the world. Reference TerraFarms, Local Roots.

Watch https://lnkd.in/f32ZVrN

Yours sincerely

Frank Short

Foreign direct aid to SI delivering tangible outcomes

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

DEAR EDITOR, over the weekend I was gratified to read from a press release issued by the OPMC that medical drug supplies have started to arrive at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) and deliveries made to several Honiara Medical Clinics.

It was good to read too that the SIG had offered to help neighbouring Papua New Guinea (PNG)with stocks of medical drugs and supplies as PNG, also, has been undergoing a similar problem with shortages of essential drugs and medical supplies.

According to a news item broadcast by Radio New Zealand last week, Daru General Hospital in Papua New Guinea’s Western Province was on the verge of shutting down due to a critical shortage of medical supplies.

The hospital serves a province of over 200,000 people, where the capital Daru has a high number of people with tuberculosis.

The governments of Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of China (Taiwan) have all been instrumental in helping the SIG overcome the recent shortages by offering supplies and with transportation of essentials and are thanked for such timely assistance.

In the course of looking at what I tend to term ‘direct aid’ I noted a statement to the media issued by the Acting Australian High Commissioner in Honiara last week

In that statement the acting High Commissioner wrote, in part, “The Australian Government is committed to supporting the Solomon Islands Government to deliver health services to the people of Solomon Islands.

“Australia will provide up to AUD47.8 million as direct budget support to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services over the period 2016 – 2020 to support the delivery of health services including the purchase of drugs and medical supplies. The Solomon Islands Government is responsible for the administration of these funds.”

The Australian Government also has a somewhat different form of Direct Aid Program which is a flexible small grants program funded by Australia’s aid budget, aimed at supporting small scale development projects with tangible outcomes.

Areas for DAP support cover community health, education, sport, rural development, capacity building, governance, human rights, gender equity, indigenous, youth, environment, agriculture, disaster relief and small scale infrastructure.

An example of DAP support in very recent years was the provision of AU$17,000 for kitchen equipment and training to the Solomon Islands Red Cross Special Development Centre.

Examples of direct aid having tangible outcomes received from the Republic of China (Taiwan) in most recent months, I would cite as having including practical farming advice and nutritional educational training and a specialist medical team’s visit to the rural communities in Malaita.

The promised gift of US$1 million for a solar power project to benefit the Solomon National University and the promised aid to the Solomon Islands Ministry of Environment and Meteorology and the National Department of Disaster Management will also result in tangible benefits when fully delivered.

New Zealand’s aid program to the Solomon Islands is helping to reach sustainable growth, improve the quality of education and make communities safer.

Yours sincerely

FRANK SHORT

EU to retain official residence in SI

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0
Minister of Development Planning and Aid Coordination, Jeremiah Manele presenting a gift to outgoing EU Ambassador Leonidas Tezapsidies

BY BARNABAS MANEBONA

Minister of Development Planning and Aid Coordination, Jeremiah Manele presenting a gift to outgoing EU Ambassador Leonidas Tezapsidies

THE European Union (EU) despite its decision to shut down its Honiara Office will still retain its official residence in the country.

Minister for Development Planning and Aid Coordination (MDPAC) Jeremiah Manele during his Ministry’s farewell luncheon to the EU Ambassador to Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, His Excellency Leonidas Tezapsidis, yesterday at the Mendana Hotel encouraged him to review the idea of leaving Solomon Islands permanently.

“I am glad that you are retaining your residence and I hope in the next coming years, your bosses in Brussels will be able to review positions,” said Manele.

“We know that there are job political considerations and developments in the world that do determine some of these actions but we hope that you will one day think seriously to return.”

Tezapsidis during his farewell remarks reminded that though EU is closing its office, they hope that it will not be forever.

“And the move to keep the residence is a first step,” he said.

“Things go in cycles, the houring is to improve as a matter of fact our efficiency by not spreading. That was a decision taken to not spread our limited resources especially in the Pacific in many countries, but concentrate in one and two countries (PNG and Fiji) in order to be more efficient and effective.”

He explained that in Fiji, they now have practically all the expertise.

“While here, we have the Ambassador and the administration but not all the experts that are needed,” said Tezapsidis.

“So I hope even now from Fiji that things will work better. It is even better to be close to our partners.”

 

 

ENDS/////////////////// USE A PIC OF AMBASSADOR TEZAPSIDIS

WWII monument removal investigated

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0
PS for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Andrew Nihopara.

By Mike Puia

THE Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) confirms investigation is underway into reports that some Guadalcanal landowners removed a USA war memorial at Red Beach, in the Tenaru area, on North Guadalcanal.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Andrew Nihopara said his Ministry will work closely with the Guadalcanal police to investigate this matter. The investigation starts today.

Reports reaching this paper confirmed some Guadalcanal landowners in the Foxwood area entered a land owned by Solomon islanders of Kiribati origin and removed a white pillar monument that was planted there to mark the USA Marine Corps 1st and 5th landing spot on Guadalcanal.

The USA consulate office in Honiara, yesterday, expressed dismay over this reports.

US consul, Mrs Keithie Saunders, said “…US is very disappointed to see these important land marks destroyed.”

Saunders said military tourism is very important, not only for historical value but also as a viable income for villagers where the monuments are installed.

War monuments in the country come under the care of the MCT. As for the US monuments, the US consulate office only looks after the US war memorial at Skyline.

Members of the Kiribati community there expressed their dismay over the action.

Secretary of the Te I Tungara Association, John Bakeua, said the monument has been moved to a new site 800 meters inland from where it originally stood.

Bakeua said the monument was removed with the help of Dalgro loaders, truck and drivers.

He said they decided to file a case against those who removed the monument but Guadalcanal police advised not to as the monument does not belong to them.

On social media, the issue attracted interest.

One of them, Joseph Waleanisia said national monuments are national assets regardless of location and whoever destroys it should be charged.

He said lease hold title does not denote ownership of monuments.

Waleanisia said the action should be condemned and the culprit charged for criminal act and civil disloyalty saying “this is an irresponsible and selfish act and someone must be taught a lesson”.

Nihopara said any World War II monument or related relic falls under the Protection of Wreck and Relic Act CAP 150, which is enforceable by the National Museum.

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