BY BEN BILUA
Gizo
THE Provincial Health Summit for Western Province is currently underway in Gizo, bringing together health leaders, government representatives, communities and development partners to discuss ways to strengthen health services across the province.
Aim of the summit is to improve the health system performance and strengthen primary health care delivery throughout the country.
It provides an opportunity for provincial health services, provincial governments, communities and key partners to jointly assess health system performance, identify priority challenges and develop practical and achievable actions to improve health services.
A key feature of the summit is the use of the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI) Framework, an internationally recognised tool to assess and strengthen primary health care systems.
Primary Health Care (PHC) remains the foundation of an effective, equitable and resilient health system.
It encompasses prevention, treatment, health promotion and partnerships with communities and other sectors to improve health outcomes noting that the health services across provinces operate under diverse conditions influenced by geography, population distribution, workforce availability, infrastructure and climate risks.
These differences often result in uneven outcomes despite national policies and standards.
The framework supports improved use of data for decision-making and has been adopted by the Ministry of Health, (MHMS) at the provincial level.
The purpose of the summit is to apply the PHCPI framework at the provincial level to strengthen understanding of health system performance and support practical improvement planning.
Its objectives include engaging stakeholders in a shared review of provincial health system performance, developing provincial health scorecards to strengthen accountability and transparency, identifying priority system gaps through structured analysis and developing practical improvement actions using Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles.
Expected outcomes of the summit include the development of provincial health performance scorecards for all provinces and Honiara City Council, clear prioritised provincial improvement plans, strengthened collaboration and ownership, and evidence-based planning to support the National Health Strategic Plan 2022–2031.
Throughout the week, participants will review provincial core health indicators and the 2025 provincial health financial status, share self-assessments of the adapted PHCPI framework and discuss assessment findings including orientations on gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI), climate change concepts and their integration into health systems. Participants will further receive training on Root Cause Analysis and the PDSA planning tool to develop practical and prioritised action plans.
The summit reflects the Government’s commitment to build stronger, more responsive and community-centred health systems that deliver better outcomes for all Solomon Islanders.
The summit is supported by the Solomon Islands Australia Health Partnership and is held under the theme: “A Healthy Future for All – Tok Stori, Local Voices, Local Solution.”
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS), through its Policy and Planning Division, is leading the provincial health summits across all nine provinces, including Honiara, as part of the country’s national health sector reform agenda.
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