The Chair of the National Disaster Council in Solomon Islands says reports of deaths and starvation on the Reef Islands have been exaggerated.
The Home Affairs minister, Nelson Kile, says that four elderly people and a small number of children have died of starvation and malnutrition over the past two months.
But Ruth Lilogula says that's not true, although she says the government has now earmarked 70 thousand US dollars to buy a month's worth of rice for the Reef Islands.
Mrs Lilogula says the food should arrive within the next two weeks.
She admits that the response to the initial reports of food shortages on the Reef Islands have been slow, but that has been due in part to next year's election.
"Our work here is really to assess everything carefully so that we are not part of this political campaigning. We are actually doing our work in accordance with what is to us facts and that we are not going to be accused of supporting certain candidates."
The Chair of the National Disaster Council in Solomon Islands, Ruth Lilogula.
