A lot has changed since the World Health Organization (WHO) first opened its doors in Samoa in 1986. This year, as WHO celebrates its 75th anniversary as an organization, we reflect on the contributions by staff, governments, partners and health care workers that have helped shape public health over the last seven and half decades.
The WHO Representative Office in Samoa was established over 35 years ago and covers American Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau. Prior to that time, these countries and the WHO staff working in Samoa came under the responsibility of the WHO Representative Office in the South Pacific.
The functioning of a global organization was very different in those days. Communication was managed by post and through a telex machine shared with the Ministry of Health. “During this period, everything was done manually. For example, accounting for small expenses was done in writing. We only had one electric typewriter and one manual typewriter,” said Mrs Perelini Fidow, who worked with WHO Samoa as an administrative assistant from 1985 until she retired in 2019. Communication with the Regional Office in Manila was through the mail and it would sometimes take more than two weeks for responses to arrive.
Caption: (L-R) Mrs Lucy Penn (administrative assistant), Mrs Eseta O’Brien (assistant) and Mrs Perelini Fidow (administrative assistant). Credit: WHO
There were four staff members in 1986 under the leadership with Country Liaison Officer Dr Tin Maung Maung. They worked out of a one-room office in the old Ministry of Health building.
Caption: (L-R) Mr Kueva Sese (driver), Mrs Eseta O’Brien (assistant), Mrs Perelini Fidow (administrative assistant), Mrs Lucy Penn (administrative assistant) and Ms Paolo (assistant) who joined WHO in 1995. Credit: WHO
When a desktop computer arrived, the staff took turns using it. “That was the first time we had used a computer. We were all so careful with it; never did we look after a piece of equipment as delicate as that first computer!” said Mrs. Lucy Penn, an administrative assistant who worked at WHO for 25 years.
Caption: Mrs Perelini Fidow (administrative assistant), Mr Danny Tannafranca (from the IT department, Regional Office in Manila), Country Liaison Officer Dr Tin Maung Maung and Mrs Eseta O’Brien (assistant)
Most of the original WHO staff remained with the organisation until retirement. So, what’s the secret to a long and successful career in public health?
Both Mrs Fidow and Mrs Penn agree: “Among the key aspects to prosperity and achieving longevity in anyone’s career include the ability to compromise and accommodate in any situation. That’s why we’re here celebrating today. It’s the outcome of our unique collective ability to navigate certain change in office management, office processes and procedures, in addition to sheer determination and perseverance.”
Today the team at WHO Samoa has grown to include administrative staff, plus technical staff and national and international consultants working with the Samoan government on health systems strengthening, health emergencies, noncommunicable diseases, communicable diseases, risk communication and community engagement.
Caption: Today, the staff at the WHO Samoa office has grown and is supporting the government in many key public health areas.