Solomon Islands
Ridged with mountainous landscapes and surrounded by coral reefs, much of the population is geographically isolated from health care services.
What are the eye health problems?
The challenges of delivering health care in Solomon Islands reflect those across other nations in the Pacific region. With low spending on health, low ratios of doctors and nurses to population, poor health infrastructure, environmental vulnerability, and geography that isolates much of the population from health services it can be extremely difficult to receive essential health care.
Our work in Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands has a local eye care workforce trained by us at the Pacific Eye Institute in Fiji and operating from various hospitals and eye clinics across the country.
All Foundation-trained eye doctors and most of the Foundation-trained nurses are based at the Regional Eye Centre in Honiara, which we built, in 2015. With this facility providing increased surgical capacity, the team is working towards eliminating the cataract backlog and helping to address other eye conditions. An outreach team from Honiara provides support to the other eye nurses placed throughout the country, helping deliver eye care services to their communities.
The Regional Eye Centre is off-the-grid, producing energy through its solar panel system.
Progress in sight
- Dr Carole Poloso graduated in 2019 from the Pacific Eye Institute with a Master of Medicine in Ophthalmology.
- In 2017, a national survey assessing the rates of avoidable blindness was conducted. The results from this survey will provide valuable information which will help us assess the impact. The Foundation has had on eye care in the country to date and inform the development of our programme going forward.
- 2 active Foundation-supported eye doctors (of which 1 is a Foundation-sponsored graduate)
- 5 Foundation-sponsored eye doctor graduates
- 1 Foundation-sponsored trainee eye doctor
- 34 active Foundation-supported eye nurses (all Foundation-sponsored graduates)
- 42 Foundation-sponsored eye nurse graduates
2023 Key Highlights
- 1 eye doctor graduated with a Master of Medicine in Ophthalmology from Fiji National University
- 2 eye nurses graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Eye Care from Fiji National University
- 9,784 consultations provided.
- 822 sight-saving surgeries performed.
- 1,744 diabetic retinopathy screenings conducted.
- 335 diabetic retinopathy treatments provided.
- 1,483 spectacles were dispensed.
- 13 outreaches made eye care services accessible to remote communities across Solomon Islands.
- The National Eye Conference conducted at the Regional Eye Centre was attended by 55 local eye care clinicians from across the country.