By Staff Writer
The first Pacific female professor for New Zealand’s University of Otago is no stranger to Samoa.
The newly appointed Professor Faumuina Fa’afetai Sopoaga, is well known in Samoa as a measles epidemic fighter.
Her chiefly title Faumuina is from Fagaloa while inside the University campus she is known simply as either Sopoaga or Dr. Tai.
The University statement announcing her academic promotion also noted that she is the first female medical doctor appointed professor in Australasia as well.
Professor Faumuina is a public health and primary health care physician. Her research interests include mental health and wellbeing, Pacific workforce and capacity building.
She was visiting families in Samoa when the measles epidemic broke out and she quickly joined the understaffed health staff in the desperate fight.
Forced to return to work commitment in New Zealand, she became one of the main moving forces behind the Samoan Doctors World Wide Volunteers (SDWV).
This was a group of Samoan doctors mainly in New Zealand and Australia who volunteered to help out in Samoa.
Together with Leota Dr. Lisi Petaia a Samoan psychiatrist in Auckland, Professor Faumuina co-ordinated the SDWV mission.
At the time she was an associate professor at Otago University.
One of the key aims of the SDWV was to relieve and provide support for local doctors working within the Ministry in a range of areas, aligned with their skills and expertise, an official statement explained the mission
The skills set include primary care; paediatrics; general medicine; ENT; psychiatry; public health; surgery; obstetrics and gynaecology.
The mission finally came to an end last March when the last group of volunteer doctors ended their mission and it was time to return home.
“It has been our privilege to be involved in serving Samoa at this time” Faumuina said in farewell at the time.
“Samoa has strength of connectedness of its people at the cultural, community, and church levels to support our Government’s efforts at this time,” she farewelled.
“The foundation of our country is based on our sovereign God. He is our hope.
“Fa’amanuia pea le Atua i si o tatou atunu’u pele o Samoa.”