Solomon Islands Reprioritizes Health Financing in the Time of COVID-19

Many countries worldwide are finding it difficult to ensure adequate financing for their public health services in the current landscape dominated by the response to COVID-19. And despite having no cases of community transmission to date, Solomon Islands, like many Pacific Island countries, is no exception. It is facing the arduous challenge of maintaining regular health service delivery while dealing with the ravaging economic impact of the pandemic.

To meet these challenges, the and seeking external financing from development partners. These partners include Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the governments of the People’s Republic of China and Japan, as well as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. Numerous other partners have also contributed to the COVID-19 response in the Solomon Islands but could not all be mentioned here.

Solomon Islands expenditure on public health is a complex amalgam of domestic and external funds. However, due to the pandemic, the decline in domestic outputs from tourism, forestry and agriculture have had a significant impact on forecasted economic growth rates. In 2021, gross domestic product in the Solomon Islands is expected to contract by around 5 percent against a pre-pandemic projection of a 2.5 percent growth. This economic contraction has the potential to affect the government’s ability to adequately provide public health services for its population.

Furthermore, the World Bank’s US$5 million COVID-19 Emergency Response Project is also providing direct pandemic preparedness support for the Solomon Islands. It includes not only procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) and laboratory consumables, but also focuses on ensuring that critical health services continue to be delivered. This requires strengthening case management systems, renovating provincial Intensive Care Unit (ICU) facilities, and upgrading healthcare waste management systems. They will help to insulate the core functions of health service delivery from the financial impacts of the pandemic.