Paper for I PC session 1 4 0 5 Population and developm ent in Sm all I sland Developing States ( SI DS) Author and presenter: Dr. Wardlow Friesen, Geography, School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand w.friesen@auckland.ac.nz Title: Population and development in Solomon Islands: families, youth and livelihoods Abstract : In 2016 the Solomon Islands government, with support from UNFPA, launched a National Population Policy (2017-2026), with a range of ambitious objectives linking population and development. The Solomon Islands has one of the highest fertility rates, and one of the lowest Human Development Indexes, in the Pacific Islands. Also, unlike some of the Polynesian islands to the east, it has very few international migration options for employment or other purposes. The challenges arising from these circumstances are considerable. This paper will consider these challenges by synthesising a range of data sources, academic studies, reports by government, international agencies and NGOs, and media reports. Its focus will be the interrelationships between family size and structure, the youth bulge and livelihoods possibilities. These will be considered in the context of the objectives of the Solomon Islands National Population Policy.
Population and developm ent in Solom on I slands: fam ilies, youth and livelihoods I ntroduction In October 2016, the Solomon Islands government, with support from UNFPA, launched its National Population Policy 2017-2026. This policy was presented as part of a broader National Development Policy and has various objectives related to inclusive development, service provision and respect for human rights. These objectives are wide-ranging and ambitious, and this paper considers the policy in relation to the demographic and economic conditions of one of the poorest nations in the Pacific islands. The Solomon Islands gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1978, and is a country largely dependent on the export of natural resources for foreign exchange and government revenue. Solomon Islands is part of Melanesia, in the Western Pacific, and unlike the Polynesian nations to the east, it has very few international migration options available for either employment or other purposes. Thus, international remittances are insignificant nationally and as a source of income for households. At the same time, levels of International Development Assistance are high on a per capita basis, and have supported the development of sectors such as health and education. About 80 percent of the population resides in rural areas, and in terms of livelihoods, it is highly reliant on the subsistence sector. In 2016, its Human Development Index was .515, placing it at 156 of the 188 countries ranked, and the lowest of any Pacific islands country. This ranking was a result of relatively low scores on all three of the requisite index components of life expectancy, education and gross national income. Population change, m igration and fertility The population of Solomon Islands has grown steadily through the second half of the twentieth century and into the twenty first century, and is projected to continue to grow significantly to 2040. Population growth rates have been
relatively high in recent years, with average annual growth peaking between the censuses of 1976 and 1986 at 3.4 percent and then declining to 2.3 percent between 1999 and 2009, and projected to decline further to 2.0 by 2040. 1 Of the components of population change, international migration has had the least impact. Over a century ago, there was significant movement of labour from the Solomons to Queensland and other Pacific destinations, mostly to work in colonial plantations. However, since these so-called ‘blackbirding’ movements were halted by British colonial authorities in 1911, Solomon Islands has had relatively little access to other destinations for either temporary or permanent migration (Craig et al. 2014). I n 2009, less than one percent of the enumerated population were born overseas, and when net international migration rates were estimated, perhaps a similar emigration rate has resulted in a net migration rate close to zero (Solomon Islands Government 2013: 74). Immigrants tend to be those who have come to work in the Solomon Islands, and most are not permanent residents, while Solomon-born emigrants are likely to be those who are studying overseas as well as a few who have gained residency in Australia or New Zealand through skills qualifications or marriage (Friesen 2013b: 3-5). With international migration having a negligible effect on population growth rates, the main variable in change is natural increase. Life expectancy has risen from an estimated 58 years in 1967 (Solomon Islands Government 2002: 97) to about 68 in 2015 (UNDP 2016: 200). Improvements in health can be partly credited for this increase in life expectancy, but especially important has been the decline in infant mortality. In the early 1960s, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) was estimated to be 122 per thousand babies born, declining to about half this rate by the mid-1970s, and then continuing to decline to about 23 shown in the 2009 Census (Solomon Islands Government 2013: 56). Fertility is the other significant variable in the growth of the Solomon Islands population. Fertility levels in the Solomon Islands are high by both Pacific Islands and world standards, but have been declining in recent decades. From a high of 1 Projections cited in this paper come from the 2016 round of projections produced by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Noumea.
7.7 in the mid-1970s, the TFR has declined to 4.1 at the most recent census in 2009 (Figure 1), 2 despite a relatively modest uptake of family planning. For several decades, family planning has been a relatively low profile and sometimes controversial activity in Solomon Islands. In the first population policy of the independent Solomon Islands in 1988, the concept of family planning as a strategy for reducing the rate of population growth was sanctioned by national leaders (Ministry of Health and Medical Services 1988; Rowling et al. 1995). However, despite the establishment of a Maternal and Child Health Unit within the Ministry of Health, the funding of family planning activities was left to international aid donors (Rowling et al. 1995: 617). Some opposition to family planning, especially modern contraception, has remained since that time, especially by certain church groups. According to Family Planning 2020, by 2016, only 4,000 women were using modern contraception, resulting in a Contraception Prevalence Rate of about 24 percent of all women, or 32 percent of married women (Family Planning 2020 2017). The slow decline of the TFR may be attributed to some uptake of modern contraception, but other factors include urbanisation and education are also significant. The 2009 Census showed a clear correlation between a woman’s educational attainment and fertility, with the TFR for those with some primary education at 4.9, declining to 3.8 for those with secondary, and to 2.8 for those with tertiary education (Solomon Islands Government 2013: 46). [ section on family and household size and structure] Policy Goal 1 of the National Population Policy 2017-2026 is to have “fertility and unintended pregnancy, particularly among adolescent girls significantly reduced” (Solomon Islands Government 2016: 38). Specific objectives which are part of this goal include improved access to reproductive health services including family planning, integration of health and family life education in schools, and community-based education and communication (ibid). Supporting Goal 1 is Goal 2 “Infant, child and maternal mortality reduced” through activities such as improving obstetric facilities and other health facilities for women, as well 2 Using other analytical methods, these TFR rates have been estimated to be lower in the 1970s (7.4), and potentially higher in 2009 (4.7) (Solomon Islands Government 2016: 12-13). [ pop policy]
increased monitoring of conditions and outcomes of reproductive health throughout the country. The activities emanating from the objectives of both of these goals will be led by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, but are also dependent on collaboration with other government ministries as well as with a number of NGOs working in these areas (e.g. Solomon Islands Planned Parenthood Association, Vois Blong Mere, and Save the Children Fund). Figure 1 Source: Solomon Islands Government 2013 2009 Population and Housing Census: National Report (Volume 2) Analysis, p. 39
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