Isabel Province has been awarded an initial grant of SBD$65,758 (USD $8,042) under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Provincial Governance and Service Delivery (PGSD) project, funded by the European Union.
This milestone was marked by the signing of the Letter of Agreement, following a meeting this week between the UNDP team, the new Premier Hon. Lawrence Hayward, and technical officers from the Isabel Provincial Government at their office in Buala.
The PGSD project aims to improve access to essential services such as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH. As part of the project, the provincial government in Isabel will implement two key interventions targeting one school and one healthcare facility.
These initiatives will benefit a total of 1,095 individuals, including 340 women, 370 men, 188 girls, and 197 boys, thereby upholding their fundamental rights to water and sanitation.
Premier Hon. Lawrence Hayward expressed his gratitude, stating, “This support to Isabel Province is very much appreciated, especially in activities that are really needed in our province. Isabel Provincial Government is grateful to partner with UNDP and we hope we could collaborate further.”
Daddley Lyn Meloma, UNDP’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, commended the Isabel provincial government’s participation: “With this participation, Isabel is joining Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Temotu, and Western Provinces in benefiting from these grants. Although this is a small contribution at the moment, UNDP is working hard to increase the support and hopefully extend it to other locations in the province.”
Due to limited resource flow, weak capacity, and lack of effective coordination among line ministries and Provincial Governments (PGs), the PGSD project aims to improve service delivery to communities.
The Solomon Islands Government’s initiative towards decentralization and developing a unified provincial administration has been slow, missing opportunities to deliver services to remote areas and hindering progress towards development goals. The Strengthening Provincial Government and Service Delivery Project contributes to the achievement of Goals 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, and 16 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda.
The PGSD project collaborates closely with the Solomon Islands Government at national, provincial, and community levels to enhance service delivery and strengthen governmental capacities for people-centered development.
Initially, sector grants for health and education have been provided to six out of the nine provinces in Solomon Islands to deliver crucial water and sanitation activities. The project aims to extend its support to all nine provinces and increase the grant amounts. Additionally, the project features consultations on key policy areas to improve decentralized, people-centered service delivery.
Source: Press Release, UNDP Solomon Islands