Solomon Islands, also well-known as the Hapi Isles, is an
archipelago of 992 islands with over 720 000 people who speak more than 70
languages, which testifies to the islands’ tremendous cultural diversity.
Solomon Islands is a youthful nation: seven out of ten
Solomon Islanders are below the age of 34. This huge demographic segment has
not been targeted enough by development assistance and peacebuilding work and
suffers from high unemployment. The lack of stable employment opportunities
affect income generation and poverty reduction efforts and makes youth
extremely vulnerable to crime and violence. The 2018 Solomon Islands State of
Youth Report reveals youth challenges: they feel disadvantaged, disempowered
and have low self-esteem. Youth are marginalized from social, economic and
political activities in their communities.
Solomon Islands’ women have had full suffrage since 1974
however, the country has only ever had three women Parliamentarians. The
political marginalization of women contributes to women's undervaluing and the
high rate of sexual and gender-based violence. Both are factors in the
alienation of half population, weakening the social fabric essential for peace
and stability. Young women face the double disadvantage of both social
expectations of their age and their gender. Women have played an important role
as advocates for peace, but their influence on decision-making processes limits
that role.
Solomon Islands ranked 151st for 2020 in UNDP’s 2020 Human
Development Report, which put the country in the Low Human Development
category. Since 1990 Solomon Islands’ life expectancy at birth, mean years of
schooling, and expected years of schooling have increased, as well as the
country’s GNI per capita increased by about 20.2 per cent, to USD 2,493 in
2020. Yet, besides all the signs of progress, Solomon Islands faces many
development challenges.
National Development Strategy (NDS) and Voluntary National
Review (VNR) highlight economic instability, governance, and law rule among
countries' key challenges. Another major challenge is the high cost and
administrative difficulty of delivering services to a largely subsistence
population dispersed across many islands with minimal infrastructure and
expensive transport links. The majority of Solomon Islanders (approx. 85%) live
in remote rural areas. Because of the geographic situation, they depend not only
on energy supply and connectivity but also on climate change and the increasing
frequency of natural disasters.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Solomon Islands, on
the ground since 1999, has earned a reputation as a trustworthy development
partner in the collective effort of supporting Solomon Islands in achieving the
objectives of the National Development Strategy and the Sustainable Development
Goals. UNDP works with people and their governments to address the country's
various development challenges.
We support Solomon Islands in implementing the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) and sustaining its growth trajectory by modernising
institutions, reducing inequalities, digitally transforming communities,
combating climate change and sustainably managing natural resources.
As part of the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, which covers 10
countries in the Pacific region and guided by the Sub-regional Programme
Document for the Pacific Island Countries and Territories 2018-2022, UNDP in
Solomon Islands has a growing portfolio of country focused interventions in the
areas of:
Effective Governance
Inclusive Growth
Resilience and Sustainable Development
UNDP also partners with the Solomon Islands Government in
undertaking policy level initiatives, including the impact of COVID-19 on the
economy, digital transformation, and others.
