BY SAMIE WAIKORI

Auki

NON-communicable disease is reported to be the number-one killer in Solomon Islands.

According to a report recently released by WHO on data collected in every hospital in the country, the majority of deaths is categorised under NCD related disease.

Data for Health Country Coordinator of WHO, Mr Rodley Ruskin told this yesterday when asked on whether they have already released any report on verbal autopsy in the country.

He said for the project they are currently implementing, they are yet to release any report as they still gathering information or yet to gather enough data.

However, Ruskin said for hospitals they have already done an analysis on data collected where NCD ranks number one out of top 10 diseases in the country.

“So NCD is a big problem in the country where lots of people have died from its related diseases,” he said.

Ruskin said the report was made from data collected by doctors in hospitals across the country.

He said the report is only for hospitals however this current verbal autopsy will provide a nationwide report since it will collect data on all deaths in the country.

BY MAVIS NISHIMURA PODOKOLO

THERE is good results from Honiara City Council’s (HCC) operation against foreign language labelled goods in shops last week, it is reported.

Wholesalers and HCC’s inspection unit have struck an agreement whereby the suppliers will relabel products with foreign-language labels using English.

HCC’s Chief Health inspector George Titulu hails this as a successful sign of ‘cooperation and understanding between shop owners and law implementers’.

“With regards to this positive outcome we have major companies and major wholesalers come forward and suggest if we can walk together with the relabeling issue, hence, conversation to walk the talk has already under way in between us.

“Honiara City council will let the general public, when and how will the process of relabelling will be conducted, this is to lessen the issues breaching the food labelling and foreign language by laws of the council,” he said.

He said with regards to the inspection operation, there have been criticisms faced by the taskforce but they never backed down because they were simply implementing the law as they have been mandated.

“When carrying out the operation we faced criticism but we never back down because what we are doing is based on what the law has mandated to us to it with a good faith,” Titulu said.

80 percent of shops in Honiara were inspected and more than 50 were found to be selling foreign-labelled goods.

BY JENNIFER KUSAPA

THE case against four men alleged of burgling homes in 2015 will be mentioned in the Honiara Magistrate Court today.

Frank Firimolea, Fred Taebo Dara, and Lawrence Liliva and a 15-year-old juvenile are facing various charges in relation to the armed robbery on different dates in May and June 2015.

Prosecution alleged that during those months, there were a number of armed robbery and break-in cases reported to police from the Ngossi area, west Honiara; to Ranadi, east Honiara.

The incidents involved a group of armed masked men between the ages of 15 and 30.

It was alleged this group invaded homes of expatriates, business people, as well as those of Solomon Islanders and removed valuable properties and money.

A number of home owners sustained injuries during the robbery incidents, and some had to be flown overseas for medical treatment.

BY BARNABAS MANEBONA

THE Solomon Airlines A320 H4-BUS being sent to ST Aerospace Engineering in Singapore for scheduled maintenance since February is still waiting for one of its engines under restoration work.

This is according to a Solomon Airlines media statement yesterday, which said one of the engines required some schedule restoration work to be carried out in which a six-month long search prior to the commencement of the scheduled check failed to find a suitable engine for Solomon Airlines to lease or purchase.

“The engine fitted to the A320 was sent to TAP engine workshop in Lisbon, Portugal, for the restoration work to be carried out in an agreed 56-day period.

“Due to the long lead time in acquiring parts, the 56 days have now passed and the engine is still in the workshop while the aircraft remains in Singapore awaiting the engine.

“There is a critical worldwide shortage of engines and parts and specifically for the CFM56-5A1 engine fitted to this aircraft. Other much larger carriers such as Air France and Air Canada are struggling to find engines.

“With only one A320 in the fleet, Solomon Airlines is obviously in a more difficult position than other airlines.”

As an interim solution, Nauru Airlines is currently flying the Solomon Airlines schedule under a wet lease arrangement.

It is anticipated the situation will be resolved within the next 30 to 60 days.

BY LYNTON AARON FILIA

THERE are more reported cases of females with non-communicable diseases than men in the Solomon Islands, it is reported.

Solomon Islands is currently facing a ‘double-disease burden’ with high prevalence of communicable diseases and high growth in non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services Health Core Indicative report 2017 states Solomon Islands has an increased number of NCD cases particularly diabetes and hypertension (high blood), from 2016 to 2017.

Females with diabetes in Solomon Islands is at 17 percent compared to men who are at 8 percent, from 15-49 years old.

According to the report, the number of patients screened for diabetes and hypertension rose significantly in 2017 with 94 percent screened for diabetes and 41 percent measured for hypertension.

In 2015 the MHMS and World Health Organisation (WHO) conducted a STEPS survey to assess risk factors attributing to NCDs in the Solomon Islands.

The report revealed 37 percent of the country’s population aged from 18-69 reported daily smoking (56 percent men and 21 percent female), and approximately 88 percent reported consuming less than five combined daily servings of fruit and vegetables.

32 percent of males reported consuming alcohol within the past 30 days, and approximately 36 percent of 18-69 years old were overweight and 23 percent were obese, according to the MHMS report.

While the total number of people living with NCD in Solomon Islands is unknown, data collected through the HIS Monthly Health Facility reporting offers insights into the distribution of disease.

It is noted that hypertension and asthma and chronic chest condition are the two most common reasons for presenting to a health facility for an NCD check-up (32 percent and 25 percent respectively).

The high number of people classified as having other chronic diseases (15 percent) is a cause for concern as this would be affecting reliability of the data if one disease is being systematically misreported as another.