Three months ago, the ground shook beneath Vanuatu’s capital of over 50 000. A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck Port Vila on 17 December 2024, claimed 14 lives, destroyed critical infrastructure, and displaced over 2000 people who needed to stay in evacuation centres or with host families for weeks after the earthquake. To this day, aftershocks are felt by the communities.
The response began within moments of the earthquake. Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health (MOH) supported by its partners including WHO, activated its incident management system and the national, provincial and Vila Central Hospital Health Emergency Operations Centres.
Assessments were done to rapidly review damages of health facilities, critical for guiding response actions. While saving lives was an immediate priority, the work to protect prevent further health crises was only just beginning.
Preventing outbreaks: surveillance as a backbone of response and recovery
As health workers treated the injured, another invisible threat emerged: the risk of disease outbreaks. With damaged water and sanitation systems and crowded evacuation centres, conditions were ideal for outbreaks of diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections.
“By enhancing disease surveillance and ensuring health workers had the tools and training to spot early warning signs, Vanuatu’s health system was able to stay one step ahead of potential outbreaks,” said Dr Mark Jacobs, WHO Representative to the South Pacific and the Director of Pacific Technical Support.
The established Early Warning and Response Surveillance (EWARS) system was used to monitor outbreak-prone conditions. The team further enhanced their surveillance efforts, transitioning from weekly to daily disease signal reporting, expanding the list of monitored diseases, and increasing the number of reporting health facilities in and beyond Port Vila.
Thanks to the efforts of Vanuatu’s surveillance team, they detected an outbreak of influenza-like-infections and responded quickly to minimize impacts.
With the support of WHO, MOH also trained health workers within weeks to strengthen surveillance so that the team could quickly detect, report, and respond to any signs of disease outbreaks.
However, surveillance efforts depend on laboratory testing and the earthquake caused significant damage to the key laboratory at the Vila Central Hospital.
“When the earthquake happened, some of our staff were injured,” explained Dexter Takau, Acting Principal Laboratory Officer. “Machines and analyzers were displaced, storerooms were damaged, and supplies were scattered across the floor.”
Within hours, essential functions of the laboratory supporting hospital services were restored. But the recovery of the laboratory still continues. Through the generosity of the Australian Government, WHO provided rapid diagnostic tests that enabled faster confirmation of suspected cases.
Risk communication: empowering communities with knowledge
While the health system responded, another vital effort was underway—delivering clear and timely risk communication to ensure people know what to do, where to go for help, and how to stay safe.
“After this earthquake, we tried to understand which health facilities are operating. And from there we communicated the messages out to the public.” explained Melissa Binihi, a Health Promotion Officer of MOH who coordinated risk communication efforts to provide timely information to people. WHO supported communications by arranging satellite internet at key sites in the first days after the earthquake.
The messages provided practical advice for example on how to stay safe during aftershocks, how to purify drinking water, and how to protect against respiratory and waterborne diseases, a risk in the wake of the subsequent rains.
In partnership with WHO and UNICEF, the Ministry of Health used radio broadcasts, posters, and community outreach teams to get life-saving information into people’s hands including those without internet connectivity.
Making strides into the future
Together, we remain committed to protecting the health of Vanuatu’s communities, not just during this recovery phase, but for the future challenges that lie ahead.
In February 2025, WHO supported Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health to conduct an After Action Review (AAR), bringing together various stakeholders to assess what worked and what can be improved for future emergencies.
Among key lessons were clearer standard operating procedures for health emergency coordination, securing contingency funding for rapid response, regular stocktaking of essential health supplies, and developing offline communication strategies for when internet and phone networks fail. Beyond this, other investments could include developing a recovery plan or evaluating health security capacities more broadly.
The Pacific Ring of Fire is responsible for 90% of the world’s earthquakes, and Vanuatu is located along this line. As such, results of the AAR will help Vanuatu further improve resilience essential to protect health and safety. This latest earthquake—following major storms like Category 5 Cyclone Pam (2015), Cyclone Harold (2020) and Cyclones Judy and Kevin (2023)—highlights the critical importance of strong preparedness for the resilience of health systems.