The importance of indigenous freshwater foods for rural women in Guadalcanal Province, Solomon Islands

Documents rural womens cooking practices and livelihoods focusing on lesser known aquatic foods. The article summarizes recipies used in a cooking competition among rural women and uses that as a platform for describing contemporary healthy and sustainable aquatic food systems

Island food systems in transition: Strengthening Indigenous food systems in Solomon Islands

This brief defines a vision for an island food system centered on rural food system actors and Indigenous foods. It provides the foundation for a new partnership program between the Kastom Gaden Association and WorldFish in Solomon Islands. This partnership will work towards implementing the island food systems vision

Nourishing island food systems in Solomon Islands: Operational Plan 2023

The WorldFish program in Solomon Islands is organized around four main research pathways (see figure). The first three are the agreed-upon impact areas of WorldFish, which aligns toward our adopted goal from the Solomon Islands National Fisheries Policy 2019–2029 of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR). The fourth research pathway places a deliberate emphasis on integrated planning and partnerships. Although WorldFish in Solomon Islands has many partners, we particularly integrate our research with MFMR to support national strategies toward its policy goal

National assessment and planning for improved fish handling in Solomon Islands

The report summarizes the discussions and interviews with provincial fisheries officers (PFOs) at the annual PFO conference in Honiara, November 23, 2022.The report also identifies the next steps needed to build a program on fish handling based on input from participants at the Fish Innovation project reflection workshop in Nusatupe, May 16–19, 2023

Pacific food systems The role of fish and other aquatic foods for nutrition and health

This report is intended for actors, policymakers and funders concerned with improving food and nutrition security with fisheries as an entry point. It is equally valuable for food system, agricultural, health and nutrition actors who are seeking to protect and enhance the benefits that fish and other aquatic foods provide to a diversity of nutrition goals. This report has been developed from an extensive review of published scientific articles and technical reports, as well as interviews and consultations with 17 experts. It also draws upon insights from the Pacific Food System regional dialogues, which were held in the lead-up to the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021

Obesity, dietary choices, and sociocultural influences among Fijian adolescents

Obesity contributes to early deaths from non-communicable diseases in all Pacific Islands populations. Fiji is no exception; the prevalence of overweight and obesity has tripled since 1993 in both ethnic groups to different extents. This thesis provides better understanding of dietary patterns and relationships with body weight in adolescents, and their sociocultural influences, in order to identify effective and appropriate messages and messengers to motivate adolescents to improve their diets

Developing Diabetes Education Materials For Young Adults: Using Focus Groups To Determine The Effectiveness Of Public Service Announcements (Psa) For Diabetes Education In Solomon Islands

PURPOSE: This study aims to identify and develop appropriate diabetes education materials and interventions for young adults in Solomon Islands. It also help III determining the effectiveness of diabetes messages and the appropriate mode(s) of delivering Public Service Announcements (PSA) in health education as well as assessing students' knowledge about chronic diseases, in particular, diabetes. METHODS: Forty students from 5 educational Institutions- one boarding and four day schools- in Honiara, the Solomon Islands' capital, were recruited to participate in focus group discussion sessions. Focus group sessions were held in pidgin (pijin) and audiotaped. The sessions were conducted by the Principal Investigator (PI) (who was also the moderator) and a dietitian as co-moderator. The co-moderator and participants confirmed the priority issues at the end of each session. The content of the transcripts was analyzed using the computer Excel spreadsheet, and chi-square and Fisher Exact Test for statistical differences in responses between schools and genders. RESULT: Participants showed that there is a marked improvement in their knowledge about diabetes and indicated inclination to change and live a healthful lifestyle. Participants acknowledged the effectiveness of radio PSA as an effective medium for diabetes education. Participants recommended that other than radio PSA, diabetes PSA should be extended and included with other health topics and integrated into school curriculum. Participants also recommended other media be used for diabetes education, including the use of audiovisual, especially videotapes and television, the print medium, and health workers. CONCLUSION: A program based on the above recommendations would be effective in educating young adults about diabetes in Solomon Islands

The importance of indigenous freshwater foods for rural women

The importance of indigenous freshwater foods for rural women in Guadalcanal Province, Solomon Islands A film has been produced by WorldFish in partnership with the Guadalcanal Provincial Government on the vital role of indigenous foods in the province. The film depicts an indigenous aquatic foods cooking competition for women in the Ghaobata ward in the north Guadalcanal region, Solomon Islands during the 2021 International Rural Women’s day celebrations, and reinforces that: • Indigenous foods are part of our culture, identity an daily practice, • Women grow, harvest and cook indigenous foods for the nutrition for families and next generations • Indigenous foods are under threat of being replaced with high imports of processed food which is high in sugar, salt and fat and lifestyle changes affecting food choices and preparation. • The environment where indigenous foods are sourced from are also under threat from environment degradation due to land-based activities, poor management and climate change. • By promoting indigenous foods and indigenous management of environments, our indigenous people can still enjoy indigenous foods

COVID-19 and Pacific food system resilience: opportunities to build a robust response

2020, International Society for Plant Pathology and Springer Nature B.V. The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of the Pacific food system to externalities and has had far-reaching impacts, despite the small number of COVID-19 cases recorded thus far. Measures adopted to mitigate risk from the pandemic have had severe impacts on tourism, remittances, and international trade, among other aspects of the political economy of the region, and are thus impacting on food systems, food security and livelihoods. Of particular concern will be the interplay between loss of incomes and the availability and affordability of local and imported foods. In this paper, we examine some of the key pathways of impact on food systems, and identify opportunities to strengthen Pacific food systems during these challenging times. The great diversity among Pacific Island Countries and Territories in their economies, societies, and agricultural potential will be an important guide to planning interventions and developing scenarios of alternative futures. Bolstering regional production and intraregional trade in a currently import-dependent region could strengthen the regional economy, and provide the health benefits of consuming locally produced and harvested fresh foods - as well as decreasing reliance on global supply chains. However, significant production, processing, and storage challenges remain and would need to be consistently overcome to influence a move away from shelf-stable foods, particularly during periods when human movement is restricted and during post-disaster recovery