Representatives from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Department of South Asia and Pacific were in Solomon Islands for a two-day visit to reaffirm the agency’s commitment to promote and protect maternal and newborn health in the country. KOICA South Asia and Pacific Director General Dr Jongmin Park and KOICA Pacific Islands Team Assistant Manager Ms Songi Lee visited the offices of the World Health Organization (WHO) Solomon Islands, and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS). They also visited the National Referral Hospital (NRH).
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Ms Tambudzai Theresa Mutale-Kapansa, WHO Solomon Islands Partnerships and External Relations Officer, welcomes Dr Jongmin Park, KOICA South Asia and Pacific Director General to Solomon Islands. Photo: WHO/E. Nuria
Transforming maternal and newborn care in five provinces
Transforming maternal and newborn care in five provinces
The visit follows KOICA’s support to the maternal and newborn Health Care in Solomon Islands Project worth USD 5 million, which is being implemented through (WHO) in close partnership with the MHMS and partners such as World Vision, and Save the Children.
During the visit to WHO, Dr Park met with the WHO Solomon Islands where he and Ms Lee were presented with a progress report. Currently, the project is transforming maternal and newborn health in five provinces (Honiara City Council, Guadalcanal, Western, Central, and Malaita) by strengthening national governance to improve quality of maternal and newborn services, increasing the utilization of maternal services, and building public awareness and community trust in maternal and newborn health services. In 2025, nearly 83% of the project has been implemented, and plans are being accelerated this year to achieve 100% completion by June 2026.
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The KOICA South Asia and Pacific Director General Dr Jongmin Park and KOICA Pacific Islands Team Assistant Manager Ms Songi Lee (seated right at the table) and the WHO Solomon Islands team during the presentation of the project report. Photo: WHO/E. Nuria
The KOICA South Asia and Pacific Director General Dr Jongmin Park and KOICA Pacific Islands Team Assistant Manager Ms Songi Lee (seated right at the table) and the WHO Solomon Islands team during the presentation of the project report. Photo: WHO/E. Nuria
Dr Jongmin Park said that KOICA is proud to support the Maternal and Newborn Health Care in Solomon Islands Project, noting that his visit to Solomon Islands helped him see for himself the achievements and challenges the project encountered. He stated that through the support, KOICA is looking forward to a successful completion of the project.
Partnership that responds to the needs of women, children, and families
Mrs Pauline McNeil, Permanent Secretary, MHMS thanked and expressed appreciation for KOICA’s continued support and emphasized the positive impact of the project on frontline health services. However, she added there are challenges faced but reiterated her support to a successful completion of the project.
“The partnership with KOICA and WHO has strengthened our efforts to improve maternal and newborn health care. This support contributes significantly to building a resilient health system that responds to the needs of our women, children, and families,” said Mrs McNeil.
"WHO is honoured to facilitate this partnership between KOICA and the MHMS. The training from obstetric and newborn care to infection prevention and control, directly strengthens the capacity of over 600 healthcare workers on the frontlines of maternal and newborn care. This translates to safer pregnancies and deliveries, and expanded access to care for the women and families of Solomon Islands. For health providers, it means the knowledge, equipment, and confidence to deliver quality services. This also demonstrates what we can achieve together as partners, which is building a health system that will continue to serve Solomon Islands long into the future," said Mr Georgios Theocharopoulos, WHO Solomon Islands country office Officer-in-Charge.
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Ms Jenny Gaiofa, WHO Project Implementation Officer for RMNCAH Department speaking to Dr Jongmin Park, Director General KOICA South Asia and Pacific. Looking on is the WHO team and Dr Howard Marau, Clinical Governance Lead, NRH. Photo: WHO/E. Nuria
Dr Titus Nasi, Medical Superintendent, NRH said, “The 2023 to 2024 pediatric hospital data showed a significant reduction of the case fatality rate in extremely low birth weight babies after the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) training and scale up was conducted in early 2023. In addition, it has also been observed that through early and prolonged KMC, premature babies with low birth weight had a reduced length of hospital stay due to improved weight gain.”
More confident and connected mothers
Some mothers who practiced KMC at the NRH Nursery Care Unit shared positive and deeply personal experiences about how KMC helped their babies. Many described how holding their baby skin-to-skin made them feel more connected and confident as mothers, especially during a time that initially felt frightening and overwhelming. They also noticed that their babies were calmer, cried less, and slept better while in the KMC position.
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Mothers are now more confident and feel more connected to their babies, thanks to KMC. Photo: WHO/E.Nuria
Lindy Torilalao, a mother of three, shared her experience of giving birth to her second child in 2019 at Kilu’ufi Hospital in Malaita Province. Her baby was born at seven months and both mother and child were admitted to the hospital for two months before being discharged. However, when she gave birth to her third baby in the second week of January 2026, she witnessed significant improvement, thanks to KMC at the NRH.
Lindy Torilalao, a mother of three, shared her experience of giving birth to her second child in 2019 at Kilu’ufi Hospital in Malaita Province. Her baby was born at seven months and both mother and child were admitted to the hospital for two months before being discharged. However, when she gave birth to her third baby in the second week of January 2026, she witnessed significant improvement, thanks to KMC at the NRH.
“My baby and I have been here for more than two weeks, and I have seen significant improvement. My baby can breastfeed better.”
Ms Jenny Gaiofa, WHO Project Implementation Officer for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health, thanked Dr Park for visiting the Solomon Islands and reiterated that the visit is of significant importance for the project.