Partnerships remain crucial to current health response to COVID-19 community transmission in the country. In fact, it has played a major role in ensuring an effective and efficient response to COVID-19.
On this note, Health would also like to single out its acknowledgement towards ongoing partnership with Non- Government Organizations (NGOs) mainly the Volunteers Service Abroad (VSA) funded by the New Zealand High Commission, Solomon Island Planned Parenthood (SIPPA) and Solomon Islands Red Cross (SIRC) whose engagement is being supported by WHO.
All three organizations have provided total of 21 volunteers, 9 from VSA, 8 from SIPPA and 4 from SIRC that are helping out with Health Emergency Operation Centre (NHEOC) communications and surveillance unit’s contact tracing and swabbing activities.
Their engagements have made important improvements in NHEOC’s response to public enquiries, via the 115 and 25256 emergency lines that has garnered a lot of public complaints in the early stages of our response.
NHEOC’s contact tracing and swabbing activities has also benefited very much from the volunteers as the tasks require good amount of man power to be out in the field.
More importantly, at the start of COVID-19 community transmission response in January many of the Ministry of Health staff from various departments were directed to support response operations thereby affecting to some extent, many public health programs and projects.
The provision of these volunteers has enable the Ministry to return its staff to their normal duties thereby ensuring that other health programs and projects can continue without disruptions.
Mrs. Pauline McNeil Health Permanent Secretary expressed gratefulness towards these organizations.
‘Thank you for your willingness to partner with us in this fight against COVID-19. Your contributions in terms of manpower has greatly benefited health with its current efforts to respond to COVID-91 and at the same ensuring that all other health services, programs and projects continue to progress’,
‘Overall if there was anything that this pandemic has taught us is this. Partnership is critical to responding to such health pandemic and every single contributions and support received weather big or small are all contributing significantly to preservation of health and lives of our people. So thank you very much to the continuous support received from all our Non-Government Organizations.
-MHMS Press