Village outreach brings life-saving vaccines closer to communities in Samoa

 It was a cloudy Saturday morning at the Ministry of Health’s immunization clinic in Moto’otua. Health workers moved with purpose, as they lifted vaccine carriers and coolers into the back of waiting vehicles. They were headed to Etena Fou, a village in the northwestern part of the main island of Upolu near Faleolo Airport.

_{Ministry of Health staff at the Moto’otua immunization clinic pack vaccine carriers and supplies ahead of a community outreach in Etena Fou. Photo: WHO / Faizza Tanggol}

After over 40 minutes of road travel along the northwest coastline, they unpacked and prepared for their mission that day: a health outreach activity in the village, which included catch-up immunization and health screenings. At the community hall, the Moto’otua team was joined by health workers from nearby Faleolo Hospital, who concentrated on health screenings for adults.

“We’re here basically just to make sure that all the children have been vaccinated or have received their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations and also to try and get them up to date for those who still haven't completed their series of immunizations,” explained Teuila Pati, a registered nurse and the immunization coordinator at the Ministry of Health.

_{Teuila Pati (left), immunization coordinator of the Ministry of Health, leads the catch-up immunization outreach in villages across Samoa. Photo: WHO / Faizza Tanggol}

Utilizing a comprehensive approach

While the focus is on protecting children, the outreach also brought other services to the community.

“We believe in a comprehensive approach when we come out to the villages,” Teuila said. “We have a number of nurses, and one team is focusing on older people. They’re checking for noncommunicable diseases – blood pressure and blood sugar. We’re also offering flu vaccines for adults.”

For Teuila, though, the priority for these Saturday outreach activities is clear: delivering life-saving vaccines and increasing immunity for vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles.

“Everyone can still remember quite vividly, 2019, when we had a measles outbreak in Samoa and 84 people died, the majority were children. We don’t want that to happen again,” she said. “That’s why it’s so important that children complete their immunizations on time.”

_{One-year-old Amataga receives the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine during a Ministry of Health outreach in Etena Fou village. Photo: WHO / Faizza Tanggol}

Strengthening routine immunization

Children in Samoa are encouraged to complete their routine immunization, which is provided free of charge at health facilities across the country. The schedule includes two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine: the first dose at 12 months and the second at 15 months, providing lifelong protection against measles.

Despite ongoing efforts, routine immunization coverage remains below optimal levels. According to the latest data from WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC), Samoa’s first dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) reached 85%, while the second dose (MCV2) was 60% in 2024.

“We usually get very good response for the vaccines we give at six weeks and 10 weeks, and then after that, the coverage goes downhill for different reasons,” Teuila observed. “I think one is accessibility and how parents prioritize immunizations for their children. Another challenge we have is that children seem to move around a lot. They can be on one island for a couple of months, and then they move to another island or a different village for the rest of the year. So trying to follow them and find them, it’s a bit of a challenge.”

To help close the gap and protect children who might otherwise be missed, the Ministry of Health is combining technology with community outreach.

“We have a new e-health system, which is where we can register all the immunizations of a child from birth,” Teuila explained. “So wherever the child goes, when the nurses have access at their hospitals to the system, they can check online and see if this child has had what vaccines they need to do or what they’ve already had.”

_{Community members in Etena Fou turn up for the Ministry of Health’s outreach activity. Photo: WHO / Faizza Tanggol}

Alongside this, outreach visits like the one in Etena Fou continue to be essential for expanding vaccine access.

“Instead of waiting for people to come to the hospitals, we will go out into the communities to try and catch these children,” she said. “We also have an open policy that anyone else, whatever age, if they have not received their measles vaccine, we can offer it to them as well.”

_{Registered nurse Matalena Tevaga draws a dose of the life-saving measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into a syringe. Photo: WHO / Faizza Tanggol}

Protecting the future

Inside the village hall, with the support of the women’s committee mobilizing the community, parents and caregivers arrived carrying child health books and guiding their children by the hand. As nurses checked records and prepared vaccines, others moved between tables for blood pressure checks and flu shots, transforming the space into a temporary health clinic for all ages.

_{The Faleolo Hospital team conducts health screenings for adults. Photo: WHO / Faizza Tanggol}

For Teuila and the team of health workers conducting these outreach activities, every jab of a life-saving vaccine is a step toward preventing diseases like measles and offers a promise of a healthy future.

“Vaccines are safe and they protect children from a wide range of diseases,” Teuila said. “It’s so important that they receive their vaccines on time. By 15 months, they should receive all their infant vaccines. It’s really important that parents place a priority on their child’s health, and part of that is making sure that they get their immunizations on time. When the child is healthy, they grow up better.”

_{During a health outreach in Etena Fou village, a child is vaccinated as part of efforts to strengthen routine immunization and close coverage gaps. Photo: WHO / Faizza Tanggol}