Health workers are invaluable to communities who would otherwise have no access to healthcare and support. Vanuatu has 206 'Aid Posts' targeting an estimated 30,000 people. The Aid Posts are staffed by a a Village Health Worker, who provides basic health services to their village.

"Growing up, I saw many sick people dying because there wasn't any health worker nearby to help them. Our island and villages are very isolated with difficult access to transport and off course any health service. I was determined to become a village health worker to help my people," said Sasen Atnelo a village health worker in Vanuatu.

Village Health Workers are chosen by the community, and trained by Save the Children on the basic skills they need to provide health services to their village. Topics include Common Health Problems in the Community, Family Health, First Aid, Family Planning Methods and Health Promotion & Education.

Since 1999 Save the Children has held more than 60 training sessions. Currently, there are around 250 trained Village Health Workers throughout Vanuatu manning 206 aid posts. In some locations, there are 2 Village Health Workers per Aid Post.

Health care workers provide basic services like:

• Treatment for diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria, and every day ailments that can cause death in children under the age of five

• Pre-and post-natal care

• Delivering babies and lots more..

Challenges for Health Workers

Access and cost of existing health services

• 80% of Vanuatu's population of about 234,023 live in remote villages scattered on 65 inhabited islands, each separated by many seas. Access to primary health care in Vanuatu is limited by distances in remote and rural areas, rugged terrain, dispersed islands, transport costs and limited transport which prevents services from reaching the community or people accessing primary health care  services other than the Aid Post.

• For such reasons, the Aid Post is the first point of access to primary health care in many cases although health clinics, dispensaries and hospitals also provide primary health care. The Village Health Worker or Aid Post as an integral part of the health care system as the first point of call for primary health care in many communities across Vanuatu. 

"In many instances, we had to carry sick people in traditional/locally made stretchers through the jungle, down the mountains, across rivers and rough seas to receive medical help from the nearest health centre in Dillons Bay or hospital on Tanna or Port Vila". said Sasen Atnelo a healthcare worker.

Cultural and religious beliefs 

• Changing people's cultural beliefs and attitudes towards their health and wellbeing is a challenge. 'Custom' is an important element of traditional Vanuatu life, defining beliefs, values and most social and cultural practices. It varies from island to island and village to villages.

• Giving birth in the village can be unsafe due to the equipment or materials that are used. These instruments are often not sterilised and medicine for both the mother and baby are not available after birth. For many babies born in the villages, it can take up to six months before they get their first immuinisations because they have to travel to the nearest health facility which can be many hours way. This makes them particularly vulnerable to diseases.

• In other cases sores or cuts are dressed using traditional medicines, a practice which often exacerbates the sores instead of healing them. The dressings are usually made of scraped bark from a plant which is then placed on the sore, covered by some leaves and tied up using some bush
  ropes. In most cases, it takes days before the dressings are changed.

First hand stories

Annie Nowiyau 

It was Annie's sixth delivery when she nearly lost her life. She was visiting her family in a nearby village when she felt contractions. She was too far from home to return, so she asked her cousin if she could stay in one of their old huts, because women are not allowed not give birth in new huts. Annie's sister - in - law tied a robe to a post on the roof of the old hut and Annie was asked to kneel down on the mat over a cloth and hold onto the robe.

The baby was delivered successfully, but there were complications with Annie. Straight away, a message was sent to Sasen, the Village Health Worker in the next village. By the time Sasen got the message night had fallen, so hewalked with a torch through the bush track for one hour before reaching Annie.

"I was scared, I thought I was going to die. I looked at my baby, I felt sad for the baby and myself too. If it wasn't for Sasen, I don't know what will happen to me." Annie said. Without Sasen, Annie may not have survived. This scenario is only too common in Vanuatu where births in the villages are still common.

Leisei's has seen the amazing work that health care workers can do with her eldest child, Johnnie, who is now 4 years old. Leisei realised that her son had a high fever and would not eat, drink or even talk. All he did was sleep the whole day. Marie, the Village Health Worker, noticed that the usually active boy was not out playing with her friends. She went to see the family and found Johnnie was very weak and his temperature extremely high.

Marie quickly checked him and discovered he was suffering from malaria and diarrhoea. She put cold sponge on his head which helped to reduce his temperature and gave him clean water to drink. Marie learnt the family believed Johnnie's sickness was ‘magara' or ‘white tongue' which they believe is caused by eating the devil's food. They had given him a spoonful of freshly squeezed juice from the leaves of a plant. But Marie knew the best thing to do was to rush him to the health centre although it was late in the afternoon. With Marie's help, the family walked with the sick child for an hour to the nearest health centre where he was admitted immediately.

In the morning Johnnie was transported by boat to Efate Island and by truck to Vila Central hospital after an hour's drive. He remained at the hospital for a month before recovering and returning to the village.Without Marie's help, Johnnie would probably not be here today.

Read about other Save the Children programs in Vanuatu...