HONIARA, Solomon Islands, May 15 2013 (IPS) - City and health authorities in the Solomon Islands, located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, are calling for effective and consistent urban waste management as they battle to control a serious outbreak of dengue fever, the world’s fastest spreading vector-borne viral disease, which was identified in the country in February.

Sustaining a livelihood from the land is a daily struggle on the steep coastal mountain slopes that plunge to the sea. Now, climate change is taking its toll on the already precarious food situation.

By Catherine Wilson

AUKI, Malaita Province, Solomon Islands, Apr 30 2013 (IPS) - The deceptively calm waters of Langa Langa Lagoon on the west coast of Malaita Island in the Solomon Islands is home to thousands of people who have lived on artificial islands for centuries. For generations the islanders in this south-west Pacific nation have employed tenacity and ingenuity to maintain their existence on these tiny low-lying man-made atolls, devoid of freshwater and arable land. But climate change is now the greatest threat to their survival.

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Liam Fox, PNG correspondent and wires

Solomon Islands National Referral Hospital is struggling to deal with the numbers of women giving birth in Honiara.

The closure of the maternity ward and women choosing to leave the provinces for Honiara has put pressure on facilities in the capital.

There was a 20 per cent increase in births in March, compared with the previous month.

Posted 15 April 2013, 7:23 AEST

A team of health specialists from Australia and Fiji has arrived in Solomon Islands to tackle an outbreak of dengue fever.

Since the first case was reported four months ago, the virus has continued to spread quickly.

Three people have died and there are at least 2,500 suspected cases of dengue fever, mostly in the capital Honiara.

However Dr Yvan Souarès, who manages the Health Protection program at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, says the virus could easily spread to other regions.

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully today announced New Zealand will send medical staff to the Solomon Islands following an outbreak of dengue fever.

“The outbreak has put considerable strain on the health system – depleting resources and overwhelming staff,” Mr McCully says.

There are almost 1700 suspected cases of dengue fever - 1200 of those in Honiara - and three reported deaths.

“New Zealand will send a doctor and a nurse to support the Solomon Islands Government response to the outbreak,” Mr McCully says.

Officials in Solomon Islands say tsunami victims are still in need of food, water and adequate shelter, more than a month after the disaster struck.

Officials in Solomon Islands say tsunami victims are still in need of food, water and adequate shelter, more than a month after the disaster struck.

A magnitude 8.0 earthquake hit the Santa Cruz area on February 6, triggering a tsunami that killed nine people.

Hundreds of houses were destroyed and about 3,500 people left homeless.

Thirty days after a remote region of Solomon Islands was hit by an earthquake and tsunami, permanent housing and sanitation still pose a challenge.

The National Disaster Management Office in Honiara says over USD $25 million have been raised by government, international donors and local communities.

The magnitude 8.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck on February 6 claimed 10 lives and displaced over 4500 people.

Australia is helping Solomon Islands to recover and rebuild after a magnitude 8 earthquake and tsunami hit the remote Santa Cruz Islands on 6 February 2013.

Australia will deliver an additional $700,000 in funding to Solomon Islands this week following an initial contribution of $300,000. This brings Australia’s total support in response to the disaster to $1 million.