PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare says reform is critical in effort to achieve better outcomes.

In his keynote address during the official opening of the National Health Conference yesterday, the Prime Minister said reforming health is a commitment every citizen of Solomon Islands is destined to set a foundation toward achieving better health outcomes for people nationwide.

The Prime Minister said the National Health Conference is an important event as it gives an opportunity for Ministry, development partners and other stakeholders to convene, review and reflect upon the shortfalls, achievements and aspirations for the better.

Prime Minister Sogavare adds that such event can determine how the ministry could improve its service delivery for better outcomes and at the same time decreasing preventable deaths at hospitals, reduce infant mortality rates, reduce maternal deaths and reduce non-communicable disease rates.

He said discussion and plan strategies paves way for health coverage improvement, improve quality and strengthen partnerships for better Health services and benefits of the country.

“Take this opportunity to harness the strengths and weaknesses that each participants share; and to learn and improve on the past challenges faced by each and every one of us.

“It is a journey that we all must achieve together by working in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders and pursuing an integrative approach.

“Reforming Health is us, you and me, how we interact with our patients or their families on a daily basis.

“It is about our community and about our future.

“We are continuously reminded that the people are the beneficiaries of the services we provide, as healthy citizens guarantee a healthy nation,” Prime Minister Sogavare said.

The Prime Minister continues to say that the 2017 National health Conference also enable discussion of ways to improve planning and budget execution.

This includes; how human resources are allocated to where they are needed most and to deliver these defined services to the people of Solomon Islands, how to address performance, attendance and absenteeism in an effort to improve coverage and quality of services and how government through the Ministry of Health and Medical Services provide support for our Provincial teams to implement the annual plans to ensure 80 percent of our rural population receive the service they deserve.

Prime Minister Sogavare strongly emphasised that equity and equality must be addressed to ensure all Solomon Islanders have access to health services without financial hardship.

“We must also not forget that financial performance and how we improve our budget execution to ensure efficient use of scarce resources.

“This is a critical component in the implementation of all SIG services,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Sogavare told those present that the government is supporting the Ministry in two critical reform programmes; Role Delineation Policy and Organisational Restructure.

The Prime Minister explained that the two programmes attempt to define roles of the different level of facilities, required human resources with skills mix component, infrastructure and required equipment’s to deliver quality services and at the same time enable the Ministry to implement the delineation policy role more efficiently and equitably.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Sogavare said DCCG government fully support service coverage and improvement of quality services encouraging building and refurbishing clinics and hospitals, updating and reviewing schemes of service for doctors, nurses and paramedics under its policies.

The Prime Minister also said that DCCG prioritizes the review and updating the Health Services Act, Mental Health Act, Child Protection Act and Competent Authority Policy in effort to strengthen the Ministry’s legislation and performance.