GOVERNMENT COMMITTED TO ELIMINATE MALARIA BY 2038
The Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Minister, Honourable Morris Toiraena says malaria remains one of the major public health challenges facing Solomon Islands, however, the Government is committed to eliminate malaria by 2038, in his speech to the Throne of Parliament last week.
He acknowledged that this is an ambitious target, but ambitious is necessary when the health and lives of our people are at stake.
“Achieving elimination will require sustained work: mosquito control, testing, treatment, surveillance, community awareness, strong laboratory services, and close cooperation with provinces and communities. It will require us to reach every affected area and ensure that no remote community is left outside national effort”, said Hon. Toiraena.
He added, this will be built on the work already done by health workers, communities, partners and previous programmes, while bringing renewed focus, stronger data and reliable supplies to the task.
Meanwhile, Solomon Islands National Roadmap for Malaria Elimination, 2026-2040, a whole-of-government and whole-of-society commitment, led by the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, and the National Malaria Taskforce will be launched next week.
This roadmap lays a path forward to achieve malaria elimination by 2038. Reaching this vision will require government, communities, and partners to work together under this shared roadmap.
Thus, the roadmap is guided by four strategic shifts of core direction. First, the shift changes of malaria surveillance reporting from health zones to political administrative constituency and ward boundaries, so that the elimination target is visible to political leaders and communities. Second, stronger collaboration across government ministries will be incorporated into the planning and financing of the malaria response, positioning malaria elimination as an important national development priority. Third, malaria will be designated as a notifiable disease to improve reporting, monitoring, and accountability throughout the health system. Finally, greater investment will be made in the health workforce to ensure that the malaria programme has personnel with the appropriate skills, knowledge, and commitment to successfully implement the roadmap.