2022 – Vanuatu – COVID-19

In March 2022, the Government of Vanuatu requested medical assistance from the Australian Foreign Minister following the initial outbreak and surge of COVID-19 cases in Port Vila, Vanuatu following the return of international flights to the nation. Until this outbreak, Vanuatu was one of the few countries yet to experience an outbreak of COVID-19.

Five AUSMAT personnel were deployed to assist in coordinating Vanuatu’s national COVID-19 response. Over the course of the AUSMAT deployment the team were able to provide high-level technical and clinical case management, training and mentorship to reinforce infection prevention control within the local health system, and assist Vanuatu’s  clinicians in the  acute health system to provide advice on response to future infection outbreaks.