While access to reliable menstrual hygiene products is important for the well-being of women and girls, it is still a critical issue in Vanuatu. The Ambassade de France supported a survey to investigate the effectiveness of menstrual cups as a sustainable alternative...

This booklet was developed with the mamas who were part of the third cycle of the Strong Mama Program in 2023. Among other things, the participants learned about nutrition and how to cook healthy meals using local ingredients as a form of self care. Eating nutritious...

Sikmun Storian is a collection of stories that shares the experiences of Ni-Vanuatu women of all ages in both rural and urban settings to share their menstruation journeys with the goal of normalising discussions around menstruation, and empowering women and girls to...

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 25, states that everyone has the right to health and medical care. Yet, research around the world has shown that for people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity – SOGIE, also known as LGBT- equal access...

Vanuatu is a Christian nation where it’s widely believed that sex before marriage is a sin. Contraception and condoms are taboo and although sexual health is promoted in schools and through organizations such as Wan Smol Bag, it is still considered inappropriate to...

Click here to read the Vanuatu Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health Policy, Strategy & Implementation Plan.  

It is 10 years passed since Pacific Ministers declared that the Pacific is facing NCD crisis at Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in 2011. It is the same year, when NCD has been brought to Global Agenda and high-level UN commitments and summits. Since then Vanuatu...

This is timely to renew Vanuatu Mental Health Policy and Strategic Plan (2021-2030) as Vanuatu is prone to natural disasters such as cyclone, volcano ashes and public health emergencies. The year 2020 was especially challenging as our country faced Tropical Cyclone...

This is the first SOP developed by the Ministry of Health as a guide to ensure proper processes and documentation are followed in response to SGBV. The SOP contributes to the overall vision of the Ministry of Health, “A healthy, prosperous and sustainable Vanuatu in...

Click here to read the Health Facility Readiness and Service Availability (HFRSA) Assessment.

Vision Supporting women to control their future Mission Statement Mamma’s Laef empowers women by providing sustainable menstrual products, creating social enterprise, and breaking taboos about menstruation

This report is part of a larger study designed to shed light on the experiences of adolescent girls and young women in Vanuatu, Chuuk State and Tonga who face unplanned pregnancy and motherhood. The study also investigated traditional and contemporary knowledge and...

To read the full report click here. Introduction: Why Should Men Care About Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights?   What would people’s sexual and reproductive lives look like if people in all their gender and other diversities equally enjoyed knowledge,...

Less than ten years ago, expectant mothers could stay up to one week at the maternity ward after giving birth, recalls midwife Marie Jean Baptiste Willy from Vila Central Hospital (VCH). Nowadays there are approximately 300 births a month and mothers and newborn...

To read the full report click here. Introduction   In 2010, The United Nations made an extensive review of the progress towards the MDGs based on the following eight goals that countries agreed to achieve by 2015:   Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;...

To read the full report click here. Health is defined as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing’.[1] It is therefore essential that mental health be understood as a fundamental component of overall well-being of both the individual and broader...

To read the full report click here. We dedicate this cookbook to all the beautiful Pacific Islanders out there who love food and love life. You can’t have one without the other, but your enjoyment of each depends on balance. Many of us are turning away from the most...

To read the full report click here. Executive Summary   The Republic of Vanuatu (Vanuatu) has endeavoured to incorporate gender and rights into its national and provincial sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programs. This report reviews Vanuatu’s rights-led...

The ability to decide freely the number, spacing and timing of children is a fundamental human right with proven benefits for the health of women and children. Reducing global unmet need for contraception would prevent around 30% of maternal deaths, reduce child...

To read the full report click here. Overview   Mental illness in Vanuatu is a major concern given the very limited access to mental health services, which are predominantly delivered through clinics and inpatient services at 4 hospitals. There are few trained...

To read the full article click here. Vanuatu is a stunningly beautiful tropical Melanesian country of just over 200,000 people spread across 100 islands. Its history spans from 19th century head‐hunters, to the formation  of the New Hebrides by a ‘condominium’ of...

To read the full report click here. Executive Summary   Vanuatu is comprised of a Y-shaped collection of 80 islands, 65 of these being inhabited. The country spans a distance of 1,100km from the Torres Islands in the far north to the barren Matthew and Hunter...

To read the full report, Click Here   This study was carried out to ensure that activities undertaken by the Mental Health, Masculinity and Violence Project (MMHV), are research based, and thus appropriate to the needs of Ni-Vanuatu communities identified. It is...