Communications Problems

Currently there are problems with our e-mail. Mails addressed to e.g. info@hermannoberli.ch are returned as undeliverable. Please use our form until the problem is solved.

The problem with our e-mail has been fixed. Mails addressed to e.g. info@hermannoberli.ch are delivered again as expected.

Dr Oberli's private telephone is out of order since January 16 and he cannot send and receive private e-mails. For urgent mails please use the pathology mail address (which does not seem to be free of problems either) until further notice. Alternatively you can send urgent mails for Dr Oberli to the webmaster, they will be promptly forwarded.

Dr Oberli's private telephone line and e-mail access are ok again.

Dr Oberli's private e-mail is out of order for some time already. For urgent mails please use the pathology mail address until further notice. Alternatively you can send urgent mails for Dr Oberli to info@hermannoberli.ch, they will be promptly forwarded.

On 24.02.03 Dr Oberli's pathology PC broke down, all mails are lost. If you sent an important mail to Dr Oberli's pathology address between February 10 and February 25, or are still waiting for a reply, you should re-send your mail to the same address.

Dr Oberli's private mail is still out of order, the mail provider's server broke down. Please do not send mails or copies to the private address for the time being.

Mails sent to the nrh-address or hermannoberli.ch are not affected.

Currently Oberlis still do not have direct access to their private mail account, i.e. they are not able to receive or send e-mails at home. However, contrary to the first assumption, the mail provider's server which receives mails for the Oberlis seems to be working and no mails should have been lost.

Unfortunately there was a problem with forwarding our mail forms. If you used this form between Monday, March 03, 2003 and Sunday, March 09, 2003, and have not received a reply yet, please contact us again.

After a fairly long outage Dr Oberli's e-mail works reasonably well again.

On Friday, 16.05.03 and Saturday, 17.05.03 there were problems with mails sent to hermannoberli.ch. Mails were rejected and returned and forms may not have reached us. Please contact us again, if your mail was rejected or your inquiry was not answered.

From Wednesday, 25.06.03 until Sunday, 29.06.03 there were some problems with the mail server for hermannoberli.ch. Some mails and forms may not have reached us. If your inquiry has not been answered or there was no reaction on sending a form, please contact us again. Sorry for the inconvenience.

General News from Solomon Islands

Dr Oberli is currently on the way to Tikopia and Anuta on board the police boat "Auki". The boat has left Honiara harbour today, 6pm local time. It will not reach Tikopia before late Saturday and will bring medical help and emergency shelters to the devasteted islands. The boat should have left Honiara on Monday, but various problems have delayed its departure. Another larger vessel, the MV "Isabella", is expected to leave Honiara tomorrow and bring more supplies and food.

The islands Tikopia and Anuta were hit by cyclone Zoe on December 28. With wind speeds of up to 300-350 km/h Zoe was a category 5 storm. The tiny islands are about 1000 km south-east of Honiara, near the border of Temotu Province and neigboring state Vanuatu. About 1,500 to 2,000 persons live on the islands.

The aerial photographs taken by a New Zealand journalist/photographer (which were shown in TV news around the world) and a RAAF Hercules show destroyed buildings, gardens and vegetation. However, the inhabitants are used to living with storms for a long time and burry supplies for such situations. There is no harbour and no air field, (radio-) communication is out of order for quite some time and only visiting the islands will reveal the real situation.

Satellite photo of Zoe on Dec. 28, 2002	RAAF Hercules in Honiara after the reconnaissance flight over Tikopia

No other (inhabited) islands of Solomon Islands or neighboring states are known to have been hit by the storm.

Dr Oberli will be on the move for at least about a week and will not be able to respond to e-mails sent to his private e-mail address.

According to BBC News, the police boat has arrived in Lata, where officials from the provincial disaster committee will go on board before it will continue its journey for another 400km to Tikopia. Current news and some videos can be found on the BBC web site.

All the inhabitants of Tikopia seem to have survived the storm Zoe alive and well. However, they will need drinking water and food. Not yet known is the situation on Anuta and Vanuatu's Mota Lava islands. Pictures and a link to the exclusive story in The Weekend Australian can be found here.

The police boat Auki with Dr Oberli is expected to arrive on Sunday and the vessel MV Isabella with food, water, and other supplies on Monday.

The police boat has arrived in Tikopia. Dr Oberli had only two cases to treat: a broken arm and a man whose leg had been hit by a branch of a tree. Apart from those, there were only minor injuries the team could easily handle.

According to Dr Oberli there is no danger of epidemics, the water source is not contaminated, but water containers will be required, because part of the piping system was damaged. There is enough food for about two weeks. The clinic suffered only minor damages but most villages on the coast have been washed away.

The police boat will wait for the arrival of MV Isabella and then proceed to Anuta presumably tomorrow to assess the situation there.

A French Navy helicopter hast visited Mota Lava Island (Vanuatu) yesterday and found its inhabitants alive and well.

70 households have been completely destroyed and all belongings washed away by the sea.

Some water sources are contaminated with rotting leaves and debris but there are other uncontaminated sources. Most needed is food. Meanwhile the MV Isabella carrying water and food has arrived.

Supplies have been brought ashore and repairs and cleanups are in progress. Radio communication with Tikopia has been established again by replacing the radio set in the clinic.

The police boat Auki is expected to leave Tikopia late tonight and arrive at Anuta early tomorrow morning. Damages on Anuta are expected to be less severe than on Tikopia. Another ship with supplies for the islands may leave Honiara tomorrow.

The Auki arrived at Anuta this mornig. As expected, damage is less severe than on Tikopia. 90% of the houses and 70% of the gardens are said to be intact.

Needed goods are: mosquito nets, fittings for water supply system and planting materials for the gardens. Supplies brougt along were distributed to the inhabitants.

There were no injuries, but there was an outbreak of chicken pox. Dr Oberli confirmd 10 cases were found. The medical team treated another 39 persons, among them 12 children who were vaccinated.

The radio set in the school building has been fixed, and Anuta is conntected to rest of the country again.

Meanwhile the Auki should have returned to Tikopia again. This evening the vessel Hamakio Maru is expected to leave Honiara with more supplies.

Surveys of the northern (Banks and Torres) islands of Vanuatu did not turn up major damage, either.

The vessel Hamakio Maru has left Honiara this afternoon and is on the way to the Temotu Province bringing necessary supplies.

The MV Isabella and the Auki are still in Tikopia. Cleanups and distribution of supplies are still going on.

Meanwhile SBD 1.5 millionen donations have been received for the two islands and help from various countries is on the way.

The chicken pox outbreak on Anuta is believed to have been caused by an infected person before the arrival of the storm Zoe.

The storm Zoe destroyed two villages on Tikopia leaving about 500 people homeless.

A full assessment of the situation on the two islands is not available until the return of the Auki to Honiara this weekend.

As of yesterday evening there are no national or international flights, except for emergency flights. Civil aviation workers and immigration and meteorology officers are on strike because they still have not received the requested harassment allowances. There are negotiations, but the situation is not clear at this time.

The Hamakio Maru and Auki both arrived in Lata. The Hamakio Maru had fuel on board, so the Auki could be refueled, and will return to Honiara tomorrow. The Hamakio Maru will continue to Tikopia.

People of the Temotu Province have been asked to donate sago palm leaves and other building materials for the reconstruction of the buildings on Tikopia and Anuta.

The MV Isabella is back in Honiara. The assessors report of "a 100% mess" on Tikopia, especially in regard to the destroyed gardens. The full assessment report is expected next week.

The Auki, with Dr. Oberli and the medical team on board, arrived in Honiara this afternoon.

Meanwhile the Hamakio Maru has arrived in Tikopia and Anuta.

Flights were resumed again on Saturday afternoon, after an interim injunction of the High Court of Solomon Islands ordered the workers to return to work immediately.

Dr. Oberli writes:
After a ten day mission we returned to Honiara on Sunday. Tired! Of course we now have numerous briefings, meetings etc to review the reports of the separate teams and to draw the appropriate conclusions for the short- and midium-term future. Enclosed a picture of the very cooperative crew of the patrol vessel "Auki", without whose commitment our mission would not have been possible. (RSIPV = Royal Solomon Islands Patrol Vessel)

An earthquake of magnitude 7.2 on the Richter scale was detected yesterday evening at 19:43 local time about 135km southeast of Honiara in a depth of about 33km. On Makira it was said to be one of the biggest felt after many years. People in West Makira and East Guadalcanal reported a rising sea level which settled again after some time. Fortunately, the quake did not generate a tsunami. An alert was issued, but later cancelled again. No casualties or damages have been reported except for a water tank on Ugi (nort-west of Kirakira, spelled Uki on our map) which fell off a platform and was damaged. (Image at left from USGS National Earthquake Information Center. The yellow line marks plate boundaries.)

The earthquake on Monday evening has damaged one of the main water supply pipes for Honiara. Therefore some residential areas have been without water since then. The pipe is being repaired now.

Diana Hepworth (more about her in the book "Faraway") has finally found home sitters for her house on Pigeon Island. Would you like to spend some time on this island, too? Then simply book your next vacation at Ngarando Faraway Resort!

Dr Oberli writes:

Swiss Consul General in Sydney, Australia, Albert Mehr, and his wife Renate visited Honiara for about a week. He paid Prime Minister Sir Allan Kemakeza a curtesy visit, called on Solomon Islands' Foreign Ministry, met his Swiss fellow citizens, and was very interested in the National Referral Hospital. The current Swiss Community in Honiara gladly accepted his invitaion to a pleasant dinner.

Albert Mehr and Prime Minister Sir Allan Kemakeza	Renate and Albert Mehr with Janet in the children's ward	The Swiss Community* at dinner (click on picture)

more pictures

* From front left clockwise: Andreas Gisler (electrician), Christian Himmelberger (volunteer doctor), Albert Mehr, Jon Andri Lutz (volunteer doctor), Jessica Delarue (volunteer medical secretary), Remigi Joller (volunteer orthopedist), Renate Mehr, Natalie Stouder (volunteer nurse), Thomas Hodler (electrician), Matthias Walting (volunteer doctor), Hermann Oberli, Elisabeth Oberli, Martin Keller (medical student). In the background Dr. Shah, anesthesiologist at NRH since 1993, and his wife.

Health Services

The Solomon Islands Planned Parenthood Association SIPPA (part of the International Planned Parenthood Federation) has received 85 bicycles, spare parts and other material from three Japanese municipal authorities. 16 bicycles were now handed over to the Ministry of Health to be used in church and government hospitals in the provinces.

According to Dr. Judson Leafasia, Director of Health Services in Malaita Province, there are many cases of malaria and diarrhea in the province. He asks Malaitans to do everything possible to stay healthy as there is a shortage of medicines and the annual budget has been reduced from SBD 160,000 to SBD 142,000.

According to the Solomon Islands Planned Parenthood Association, SIPPA, the number of sexually transmitted infections has increased 75% since the year 2000. SIPPA has increased its services in this area accordingly.

The association operates clinics in Honiara, Auki (Malaita), and Gizo (Western Province). The clinics are popular for providing cervical cancer screening. Demand for family planning services has increased 50% during the last two years.

Employees of the Honiara City Council's Health Division have not been paid since September 2002. Meanwhile they are owed about 10 wages, over time allowances and other benefits.

Click on pictures to enlarge them.

	From left to right: Nora Monnier (student, surgery), Dr. Rahel Meier (volunteer doctor, surgery), Ernst Knellwolf (electrical engineer), Dr. Theodor von Fellenberg (volunteer doctor, surgery), Dr. Christian Himmelberger (volunteer doctor, surgery), Kurt Brauchli (Telepathology), Dr. Hermann Oberli, Kurt Meier (assistent of Ernst Knellwolf)
	The von Fellenberg family (from left to right: Theodor, Melissa, Nathalie and Eva) is staying in Solomon Islands for about six months.

As the employees of Gizo Hospital in the Western Province have not received their last three salaries, they need time to find other means to feed their families. Therefore Gizo Hospital has to reduce its medical services.

As the employees of Buala Hospital in Isabel Province do not get their salaries either, they have decided to take time off on Monday to Friday from 1pm to 4:30 pm to find other means to feed their families (e.g. working in their gardens).

For the past week newborns could no longer be vaccinated as the country has run out of vaccines. New supplies are expected to arrive at the end of the month, thanks to Japanese funding.

Today the Taiwanese Ambassador has officially handed over about five boxes of basic drugs and antibiotics to the Minister of Health and Medical Services, Benjamin Una. The donation was made by the Taiwanese Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association.

Medical equipment for a total of 280 health centers, clinics and nursing stations throughout the country arrived at the National Medical Store yesterday. Some equipment has already been distributed to various places in several provinces. The rest will be distributed as transportation means become available. The material worth more than SBD 1,000,000 was delivered as part of an AusAid project.

A major shipment of drugs and medical consumables was handed over to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services today. Distribution throughout the country will take place as soon as possible. The material worth SBD 3,200,000 is also part of the above mentioned AusAid project.

Taiwan supports the rebuilding of Solomon Islands' health services with USD 500,000.

The Emergency Department at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara has run out of antibiotics. The clinical nurse consultant at the emergency ward has asked the public to take care of their health and avoid accidents.

According to the Director of Pharmacy Services in Solomon Islands, new antibiotics will arrive this week. He also said there are enough replacement drugs in stock which can be used for first line treatment.

The new generator (financed by Japan) has been installed at Sasamunga Hospital (Choiseul Province) last week and works perfectly.

Ambassador Dr. Klaus Peter Klaiber from the German embassy in Canberra, Australia, has handed over a gastroscope worth about AUD 23,000 to the NRH today. The old equipment broke down about five months ago and a replacement was not available.

Thomas Hodler and Andreas Gisler, two Swiss apprentices in their fourth year of training as electricians, work in Solomon Islands for three weeks. They have already installed the pump and the control unit for the rainwater tanks at NRH. Now they are working on the electrical installations at Gizo Hospital.

All costs of their visit (travel expenses etc.) as well as various components and supplies are paid for by their employer, the Elektrizitätswerke Altdorf (Electric Power Company Altdorf), Switzerland.

Our thanks go to all those who contributed to this successful mission.

Dr. Oberli writes:

The mission of Thomas Hodler and Andreas Gisler was a full success. The young men have worked calmly and decisively under adverse conditions, and nothing could disconcert them. They deserve our respect for this accomplishment. On Saturday they safely returned from Gizo. "Solomon Time" is already over for the two electricians, tomorrow they will depart and take back unforgettable memories. Our many thanks go to all those who contributed to this successful project in any way.

All costs of this mission are paid for by the Elektrizitätswerke Altdorf (Electric Power Company Altdorf), Switzerland.

Today the Ministry of Health and Medical Services has received vaccines for children worth about SBD 500,000 from the Japanese Government. The vaccines against whooping cough, diphtheria, polio, measles, tetanus and hepatitis B were purchased and delivered by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Newborns can now be vaccinated again (see news item of 12.03.03). The vaccines should last for about a year.

Solomon Islands and Vanuatu will receive a malaria grant from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria.

Excerpt of Global Fund press release of 05.06.03:

A malaria grant worth nearly US$ 2.5 million for the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, both classified among the world's least developed countries and struggling with an extremely high burden of malaria, will bring diagnostic services to communities not previously reached by malaria control programs, with a special emphasis on preventing malaria in children and pregnant women. The program will involve church and village leaders in educating and mobilizing their communities for malaria control and utilize the private sector to promote and distribute treated bed nets.

Today the medical staff at National Referral Hospital has said goodbye to two foreign doctors who spent ten years - including the time during the ethnic tension - in Solomon Islands and have saved many lives.

Dr Hermann Oberli from Switzerland was instrumental for the surgical and other departments of the hospital. He trained local doctors and established the Fracture Clinic, which a nurse would like to be named the "Oberli wing". Further, he secured funds for the purchase of medicines, invited Swiss doctors to do volunteer work in Solomon Islands, and used funds donated in Switzerland to support the trainig of nurses at Helena Goldie and Malu'u Schools of Nursing.

Dr Shah from India has dedicated his time to the department of anesthesiology.

Both will soon leave the country together with their families.

In their farewell speeches for Dr Oberli and Dr Shah, surgeons, nurses and dental officers of the National Referral Hospital highlighted the quiet but important support of the day to day operation of the hospital with goods and personnel from Switzerland during and after the ethnic tension period.

They mentioned the donation of equipment for the dental clinic, the supply of drugs worth thousands of Dollars before New Zealand, Japan, and Australia started to supply them, and volunteers coming in from Switzerland when many of the local doctors left.

This was made possible by Dr Hermann Oberli's untiring efforts and the network he had established. But Dr Oberli has not only done a lot for the health service in the country but helped in other areas as well. E.g. he supported the building of a primary school on Utupua, now known as the "Messerli Memorial School", and helped realize solar systems in two villages on the Weathercoast of Guadalcanal in the late 1990s.

For many years people from Toabaita in North Malaita have painted their teeth black to protect them against decay. The paint is made from locally available materials.

A dental officer at the National Referral Hospital confirmed that those painted teeth rot less quickly than unpainted ones.

Kaspar Oberli, a dentist from Switzerland and son of Hermann Oberli, has now conducted a research together with local dentists to find out how the black paint effects tooth decay. Results of this research will be published later.

Every morning Rahel Leimbacher, kindergarten teacher and volunteer from Switzerland, works with enthusiasm and great success with the children at the National Referral Hospital.

Rahel Leimbacher and her kindergartners	Sometimes the grown-ups enjoy it almost more than the kids...

Martin Keller, medical student, surgery	Gregor Hutter (right), medical student, assists Dr Rooney Jagilly at surgery
Dr Matthias Walting, volunteer doctor surgery	Dr Hermann Oberli with some of his patients in the children's ward

Hip arthrodesis (assisted by Dr Patrick, medical student Keller, and scrub nurse Elisabeth)

(from left) Dr Patrick, Dr Oberli, med. student Keller, scrub nurse Elisabeth	End of operation on Friday, 20.06.03, 6pm

Two medical doctors from Papua New Guinea are currently in Honiara to discuss how the two countries can cooperate in addressing malaria.

Today Dr Oberli has left Solomon Islands.

Urgently needed drugs are missing. The Ministry of Health wants to investigate the reason for this shortage. There is a suspicion the drugs may have been stolen and sold.

The National Referral Hospital is currently out of Lidocain and vitamin K. Expecting mothers are asked to look for anesthetics before coming to the hospital to give birth.

As of today all Honiara city clinics are closed. Staff waits for seven or even nine salary arrears to be paid (salaries should be paid every two weeks). According to the city council, the nurses are only owed three salaries, of which two will now be paid by AusAID and one by Honiara City. Negotiations with the union are still going on.

Patients were asked to go to the National Referral Hospital. There was no joy at NRH over this situation, as the resources in the outpatient department are limited already.

The strike also affects the operation of a garbage dump.

Kilu'ufi Hospital near Auki is soon out of basic drugs like antibiotics, psychiatric and TB drugs, Lignocaine, as well as normal medical supplies. Orders have been placed at National Medical Store in Honiara, but nothing seems to be available.

Kilu'ufi will have to close if no supplies are received by July 4.

Media and Reports

• The answers of a former female registrar (FR9801) and another female student (FS0203) to our questionnaire. If you spent some time in Solomon Islands, even if it was quite some time ago, send in your answers, too!
• A map of Solomon Islands wherer you can even find Tikopia and Anuta.

• "Das Palmendach", a report by Philipp Honigmann about the addition of a palm-leaf canopy to the Kiwi-House. The report is written in German, but even if you do not understand German you might enjoy the many pictures.
• Snap shots by Philipp Honigmann from the hospital in Honiara.
• Three new books on our books page: the Südsee Reisehandbuch and the South Pacific Handbook, two travel guides, and the book "The Cruise of the Snark" by Jack London.

The picture on the left shows how tap water in Honiara occasionally looks like. The rainwater-tank-project is also illustrated now.

Two new reports:

• 20.-27. Mai 2003: Solomon Islands by Albert and Renate Mehr (in German)
• Deux Genevois à Honiara: l'arrivée by Jessica Delarue (in French)

Two pictures taken at the farewell party at the hospital

Another filled in questionnaire.

Projects

Dr Rooney Jagilly has attended and successfully completed the AO-ASIF course "Principles of Operative Fracture Treatment" in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The course is tailor-made for developing countries.

Two OT nurses, Elizabeth Rongo (2nd from left) and Dency Saohu (3rd from left), have attended and successfully completed the AO-AISF course "Basic Course for Operating Room Personnel" in Sydney, Australia.

More pictures here.

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