BY LORETTA BRIGIDIA MANELE
THIS report further strengthens our partnership and collaboration with our regional and international development partners towards addressing poverty and the sustainable development goals.
The above statement was made by Minister for Finance and Treasury, Manasseh Sogavare in a report titled “Solomon Islands Poverty Maps Based in the 2012/13 Household Income and Expenditure Survey and the 2009 Census of Population” launched last year.
In initial remarks, he referred to the report as a first of its kind and another significant statistical milestone for the nation.
Sogavare expressed that the analysis utilises an internationally recognised method by combing the census data and survey data (2009 Census and 2012/2013 Household Income and Expenditure Survey) to enable the production of poverty and inequality measures at a lower geographical ward level or small area (EAs), something that was previously far-fetched.
He stated that results from this report enables policy makers, planners, students and even the average citizen to easily identify the scale of poverty among households in relatively smaller geographical areas within and across the provinces.
Sogavare mentioned that the report is an extension of the Solomon Islands Poverty Profile Based on the 2012/13 Household and Expenditure Survey report that was published in December 2015.
“It shows that new and value adding research about the dynamics of poverty can be undertaken to inform government policy,” he said.
Sogavare stressed that results and maps generated from the report provide a formidable guide in the fight against poverty across the country and in supporting the government address poverty alleviation through fiscal policy in the allocation of limited resources and in targeting interventions through the National Development Strategy (NDS) and the Medium-Term Development Strategy (MTDS).
