I am Annette Garae, a paediatrician working in Vanuatu, recently graduated from UPNG. We were grateful for the support of the PMA CEO, Debbie Sorensen, PMA Chair, Dr Kiki Maoate, and their team who made it possible for us to participate in this meeting.  

The conference theme this year was 'The new dawn,' which I thought was a powerful statement for a conference; a new start, a chance to reset. It reminded me of a painting on the wall of my parents' room; it was a picture of a sunrise and had the words 'He (God) tells me that He loves me with each sunrise that He sends” written on it. This was it. This is it. A new dawn. A new day. Another day that God loves us and His mercies are new every day. Another day to restart and reset. And so it is with everything in life. And that was what the conference was about. Finding new opportunities to overcome the health challenges we the Pacific people are facing. Finding new solutions to old problems. Reuniting and making new relationships. Renewing, strengthening and incorporating solutions that were already there in our communities.  

I spoke on the first panel called “Health across the oceans”. It was intimidating at first when I looked across at the other panelists who were much more senior in their roles, but in the end one thing was certain, we all shared a passion to better our health systems and this was the space to push and advocate for the changes we wanted to see. We understand our culture and how our societies and health systems are set up. These are our strengths.  

Another thing that stood out for me was PMA’s vision – Pacific children expect to live as long as anyone on Earth. As a paediatrician, I strive to advocate and give the best that I can for every sick child. Yet, there are always so many challenges. It was humbling being given the opportunity to speak alongside my senior colleagues, Dr Joshua Agnew and Dame Teuila Percival, on the panel for “Our Children, Our Future –Growing Pacific Paediatric Services’. Not only did I learn from them, but I felt empowered by them. They also addressed the dire need for paediatricians in the Pacific and like Dr Agnew said, “If we don’t get our child health care right, we will never get health right”. I believe every health worker should be a child health advocate.  

There were so many issues to reflect upon on the journey back home, from mental health to Humanitarian Assistance, but I came back having that ‘warm” feeling. Yes, there is still so much work to be done for the health of our people, but we needn’t look far for advice, or support, or mentorship and leadership, we already have that in our Pasifika family. Like Debbie said “When you call, we will come!” I know that I will have my Pacific family to lean on. Together we can help our children have that right to live longer.