SOLOMON Islands Prime Minister and Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, Jeremiah Manele, delivered a strong statement at the 80th General Assembly, marking the thirtieth Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.
“As we mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, the Pacific also celebrates its leadership legacy,” Manele said, speaking on behalf of the Member States of the Pacific Islands Forum.
He said a year before Beijing, the region launched the Pacific Platform for Action, “boldly placing gender equality at the heart of our regional agenda”.
Despite remaining challenges, the “resilience of Pacific women and girls is driving real progress,” including more girls completing school, women accessing economic opportunities, and improved health systems.
Reproductive health is advancing, with notable progress in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical cancer screening.
However, he stressed, “more needs to be done to elevate women in politics and decision-making roles”.
“As ‘One Blue Pacific,’ the Forum is planning a Regional Gender Equality Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning Plan “to close data gaps, guide action, and ensure no one is left behind.
“The Pacific is also confronting “new forms of violence, including tech-facilitated abuse,” which is “stretching our capacity to respond meaningfully,” requiring “Bold partnership”.
Addressing national efforts, Manele announced that his government is delivering access to quality education, with the Solomon Islands National University offering second-chance programs for women who left formal education due to pregnancy.
He was “pleased to announce that nine out of ten births in Solomon Islands are attended to by skilled professionals”.
The nation has rolled out vaccinations for girls to prevent cervical cancer and “removed duty and goods tax on menstrual sanitary products”.
To combat violence, Solomon Islands has legislation like the Family Protection Act (2014) and the National Policy to Eliminate Violence against Women and Girls (2021–2027).
Empowering women in business is also a national priority, with financial literacy training leading to the growth of women’s savings clubs.
These clubs have “provided women with seed money to pursue their economic goals”.
“The Pacific region remains steadfast in our commitment to multilateralism, the Beijing Plan of Action and will continue to place gender equality at the centre of every decision we take in shaping our future,” Manele concluded.