Minister of Health and Medical Services Hon. Morris Toiraena has called for predictable, multi-year international financing to help Small Island Developing States (SIDS) strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
Speaking at the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response at the 81st United Nations General Assembly, the Minister highlighted the particular challenges facing Solomon Islands as a dispersed island nation with a limited health workforce and increasing climate-related health risks.
The Minister said Solomon Islands has strengthened its national preparedness since 2023 by institutionalising its Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, establishing national medical assistance teams and expanding disease surveillance into remote provinces.
“These systems were tested during Tropical Cyclone Maila earlier this year, when the Solomon Islands Medical Assistance Team (SolMAT) was rapidly deployed and surveillance systems monitored potential disease risks in displacement sites,” he said.
The Minister also highlighted efforts to integrate climate and health preparedness through the Health-National Adaptation Plan, including digital surveillance, vulnerability assessments and workforce training.
“Solomon Islands welcomed the WHO Pandemic Agreement, amended International Health Regulations and the establishment of the Pandemic Fund, while calling for the swift conclusion of negotiations on Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing,” he said.
Minister Toiraena urged international partners to provide predictable, pre-positioned support for SIDS.
He stressed that pandemic preparedness cannot depend solely on emergency financing once a crisis has already begun.
The Minister further called for stronger alignment between climate and health financing.
He said pacific countries increasingly face both health emergencies and climate-related disasters simultaneously.
“Health security infrastructure, much like climate infrastructure, cannot be built through fragmented, one-off emergency response cycles,” the Minister said.
