Solomon Islands: HIV and AIDS
AIDS epidemic fears
A devastating AIDS epidemic is threatening to sweep across the Solomon Islands unless immediate action is taken to halt the spread of the virus.
There are fears that the Solomon Islands could be heading down the same path as neighbouring Papua New Guinea (PNG), where the scale of the disease is threatening to reach epidemic proportions.
A staggering 500,000 people will be living with HIV/AIDS in PNG by 2025 unless dramatic steps are taken to tackle the crisis, according to the Australian Government.
The Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands could be faced with the same desperate future as PNG because both Pacific nations struggle with similar problems.
More and more youth are drifting into the cities where they can end up living in grim squatters’ camps. Unemployment, poverty and despair lead many to fall into drug abuse or turn to sex work in order to survive, further increasing infection rates.
The growing number of youth engaging in promiscuous sexual behaviour is a major concern. The prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in Port Vila and Honiara are already as high as those in some African and Asian countries.
The Church of Melanesia
The Church of Melanesia (COM) HIV and AIDS Program, which is supported by AngliCORD, is seeking to prevent this crisis.
“People from the Solomon Islands have gone over to PNG and come back ringing alarm bells,” says Tony Maelasi, the COM HIV and AIDS Program Support Manager.
“There is a big concern that we don’t want to follow the same road as PNG.”
The COM HIV and AIDS Program is aiming to halt the spread of the virus in Solomon Islands by raising awareness about transmission and prevention. The program is also hoping to develop care and counseling support for those who are HIV positive.
“Solomon Islands is a small country and the HIV/AIDS situation here is distressing. Around eighty per cent of our people live in rural areas and we need a lot of support to get our messages across to them about HIV/AIDS prevention and care,” Tony says.
The Solomon Islands population of 500,000 is scattered across 900 islands making it extremely difficult to educate people about HIV/AIDS. Reports from Church workers indicate that as many as 90% of rural people have little or no understanding of the virus.
“To Anglicans in Australia I would say, remember us in your prayers. We are faced with a lot of issues and we need a lot of support to continue our important work,” Tony says.
The number of reported cases of HIV infection in the Solomons is still quite small. The COM program is seeking to keep those numbers low.