Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Co-operation needed to fight spread of HIV/AIDS in Solomons, says NGO

Posted at 21:38 on 04 December, 2009 UTC

A Save the Children spokesman in Solomon Islands says the combination of a youthful population and poor access to education and health clinics makes the population vulnerable to the spread of AIDS.

On the recent World Aids Day, Malaita’s Provincial Minister for Health said the virus would hit the Solomons like a tsunami unless communities come together to fight it.

Casper Supa, the HIV programme manager for Save the Children, agrees that the country has to take action if it’s to avoid the high infection rates seen in neighbouring countries.

“It’s something that if we do not prepare, if we do not educate the people in the communities, then it will very soon be like a tsunami for our country as well.”

Caspa Supa says Save the Children is helping nurses improve their communication with young people, as well as running outreach AIDS education programmes in remote areas.