Grace’s Mission: Protecting the Girls of North Efate Through HPV Vaccination
Grace's Mission
Grace still remembers the first time she noticed it: more women arriving at Saupia Health Centre with the same quiet fear, the same diagnosis. Cervical cancer. Late stage. Something she had never seen before in her seven years working as a registered nurse in Paonangisu, an isolated community in North Efate, Vanuatu. In 2025 alone, they detected five confirmed cases of cervical cancer.
“That’s when I knew we had to do more than just treat illness,” Grace says. “We had to prevent it.”
Grace’s journey into nursing began long before she put on a uniform. She grew up in a hospital in Tanna, watching her father work as a nurse practitioner at Lenakel Hospital. Caring for people became both a passion and a dream. Today, at Saupia Health Centre, Grace is responsible for children’s vaccinations, school visits and community health awareness. She covers 19 schools – including three secondary schools – and reaches girls in classrooms, communities and even those who are out of school.
Among her many responsibilities, one stands out as deeply personal: protecting young girls from cervical cancer through human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. Grace has daughters of her own, and that connection fuels her commitment. “I have girls too,” she says with pride. “I think it is very important to help prevent cancer rather than just treating illness.”
Although Saupia Health Centre had received HPV vaccines in previous years, they often sat unused. Parents were hesitant. Some feared the vaccine would affect their daughters’ ability to have children. Others were influenced by misinformation, religious beliefs, or lingering fear after the COVID-19 pandemic. Without funding for outreach, Grace and her team struggled to change minds.
Then 2025 became a turning point.
With the support of the ik-kana Cancer Foundation, awareness sessions were held in schools and communities across North Efate targeting parents, teachers, key decision makers and, most importantly students. The message was clear and simple: the HPV vaccine protects girls from cervical cancer. After each awareness session, Grace and her team were ready to vaccinate. The impact was immediate.
“I saw the difference,” Grace says. “Parents were more interested. Girls started coming to the health centre asking for the HPV vaccine. It was very efficient.”
By the end of 2025, Saupia Health Centre had vaccinated more than 200 girls against HPV – a remarkable shift from previous years when no vaccinations had taken place despite vaccine availability.
“She was very affected by what happened to her relative,” Grace recalls. “That’s why she wanted the vaccine – so she would not go through the same pain.”
One young girl’s story stays with Grace as a powerful reminder of why the work matters. The student came to the Saupia Health Centre on her own, asking to be vaccinated. Her parents initially refused. Grace arranged counselling sessions and gentle conversations to address their fears.
What the parents didn’t know at first was the pain behind their daughter’s determination. A close relative had recently come to Saupia Health Centre with late-stage cervical cancer and was referred to Vanuatu National Hospital. Unfortunately, it was too late. She died in terrible pain.
The young girl had witnessed it all. She didn’t want the same future.
After the discussions, the parents agreed. The girl was vaccinated, taking a step toward a healthier future – one defined not by fear, but by prevention.
Grace has seen how attitudes are changing. “After the awareness, parents understand,” she explains. “They learn that the HPV vaccine protects their children. It is clear and easy to understand, and then they want their children to be vaccinated.”
Challenges remain – misinformation, religious concerns, and limited funding for outreach – but Grace is hopeful. “If nurses, partners and donors work closely together, everything is possible,” she says.
When she imagines the future, Grace sees fewer cancer cases and healthier women across Vanuatu.
“I hope we can continue working closely with awareness partners,” she adds. “Awareness and vaccination on the spot; that works.”
From the classrooms of North Efate to the rooms of Saupia Health Centre, Grace is helping ensure that today’s girls grow up protected, empowered, and free from a disease that once arrived too late.
