Solomon Islands

The following syndrome has been flagged:

• Acute Fever and Rash: French Polynesia, Tonga

Other Updates:

Meningococcal disease:

SUVA, 16 April 2018 - Today, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) signed a NZ$7 million agreement to support the prevention and reduction of newborn mortality in Kiribati, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Summary

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon announces £2.9 million for human rights projects across the Commonwealth, with particular focus on the South Pacific and small states.

UK Minister for Human Rights today announces 3 projects to support human rights across the Commonwealth, with particular focus on the South Pacific and small states. This £2.9 million work will support member states, regional organisations and human rights institutions in promoting human rights standards across the Commonwealth, with a focus on equality and adherence to international human rights obligations.

An archipelago of over 990 small islands, covering around 27,000 square kilometres, the Solomon Islands boasts rich cultural diversity and an array of terrain, species and natural resources.

In many ways, it is an island paradise. Yet, like other small island developing states around the world, the nation faces a range of specific development challenges, now complicated by the emerging adverse impacts of climate change: rising sea levels, more variable and unpredictable rainfall, and more intense extreme weather events.

Introduction

Disaster events have lasting impacts on people, communities, and socioeconomic development. Countries in the Pacific are among the most exposed, globally, to natural disasters, including floods, droughts, cyclones, and earthquakes. The effects of climate change threaten to increase the severity and frequency of hazard events in the Pacific region, emphasizing the need for Pacific island countries to protect themselves against corresponding social and economic consequences.

The following syndromes have been flagged:

· Acute Fever and Rash: Fiji, Northern Marianna Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu

Other Updates:

Meningococcal disease:

· Outbreak of meningococcal disease group C is ongoing in Fiji. The Fiji MHMS will continue to post updates on PacNet. The last update was posted on 6 April 2018 For details of previous updates please refer to: MHMS media release

Dengue:

· There are ongoing dengue serotype-2 outbreaks in Fiji, Vanuatu. The weekly number of cases (dengue serotype-2) reported is decreasing in Tonga and Samoa

Executive Summary

The following syndromes have been flagged:

• Acute Fever and Rash: Northern Marianna Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu

Other Updates:

Meningococcal disease:

• Outbreak of meningococcal disease group C is ongoing in Fiji. As of 29 March 2018 of there have been 38 cases including 4 deaths since 1 January 2018. Majority of the cases are from the Central division and all cases are less than 19 years of age.

The following syndromes were flagged:

• Acute Fever and Rash: Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), French Polynesia, Tonga, Vanuatu

• Prolonged Fever: Fiji

Other Updates:

Meningococcal disease:

• Outbreak is ongoing in Fiji. There has been a cluster identified in a boarding school in the Central Division. The cases are being treated at the tertiary hospital (Colonial War Memorial Hospital), while contacts of the cases have received appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis. Source: Ministry of Health & Medical Services and Media .

Tropical Cyclone IRIS formed over the South-West Pacific Ocean, south of Solomon Islands on 24 March. On 26 March at 0.00 UTC, it was located 660 km north-west of Pott island (New Caledonia) and had maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h.

The following syndromes were flagged:

• Acute Fever and Rash: Fiji, Tonga, Northern Mariana Islands

• Dengue Like Illness: Vanuatu

• Prolonged Fever: Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati

Other Updates:

Meningococcal disease:

Today we are pleased to launch the Australia-Pacific BRIDGE School Partnerships program as part of our commitment to strengthening links with our neighbours in the Pacific.

SUVA, 19 March 2018 – Government participants from ten countries in the Pacific region will work with experts this week from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Pacific Community (SPC) to strengthen data collection and planning to improve the lives of the most vulnerable families and children. 

Choiseul, Solomon Islands, 19 March 2018 – Considering that 98% of Solomon Islands’ total surface area is covered with water, it can be hard to comprehend just how little fresh water the country has. Communities like Vudutaru, in northwest Choiseul, and Lokalaji, in the province’s south, were all too familiar with problems associated with a lack of fresh water.

The following syndromes were flagged this week:

• Acute Fever and Rash – Vanuatu, Federated State of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Northern Mariana Island

• Dengue Like Illness – Vanuatu

• Prolonged Fever – French Polynesia

Other Update:

Dengue:

• Tropical Cyclone LINDA formed over Coral Sea (south of Solomon Island) on 12 March and started moving south, strengthening. On 13 March at 0.00 UTC its centre was located 500 km north-west of Panan city (Pott island, New Caledonia) and it had maximum sustained winds of 74 km/h (Tropical Storm).
• Over the next 24 hours, it is forecast to move south-west between the eastern coast of Queensland (Australia) and New Caledonia, slightly strengthening.

Mangrove eco-systems around the region were the focus of talks in Suva, Fiji last week as regional representatives joined experts in discussing how the mangroves eco-systems can help reduce risks in the face of changing climate.

Hosted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the workshop combined government representatives from Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands, who joined the IUCN and three representatives from the ‘Mangroves for the Future’ in Asia and the ‘Global Mangrove Alliance’ partners.

In any emergency, having an accurate contact list of responders is critical to help coordinate an effective response. In most operations, however, such lists are usually out-of-date, leading to missed commnications and frustrated responders. To address this problem we’ve adopted Humanitarian ID, a new approach to managing contact information that puts you in control. Humanitarian ID works on your desktop, laptop and mobile device and has been designed to help humanitarian professionals connect, communicate and collaborate.

The following syndromes were flagged this week:

Other Updates:

• Acute Fever and Rash – Northern Mariana Is, Tokelau, Vanuatu

• Dengue-Like Illness – Palau, FSM

• Prolonged Fever - FSM

Dengue

• As of March 1st , 2018 there have been 69 confirmed cases of Dengue in Tonga via Dengue duo Rapid diagnostic kit from 212 samples tested. Dengue serotype-2 has been identified responsible for the outbreak. Source- Tonga MOH