Community Health Facilitator - Volunteer Position - Onsite in Vanuatu - 2 years, plus 3 months training
Peace Corps
United States
Posted on May 3, 2025
About The Job
Apply by :
October 1, 2025
Know By
December 1, 2025
Depart On
May 1, 2026
Duration
2 years, plus 3 months training
ELIGIBILITY: Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a U.S. citizen.
Project description
Since 1989, over 900 Volunteers have served in The Republic of Vanuatu. Home to the Melanesian Ni-Vanuatu, Vanuatu is a beautiful archipelago in the South Pacific with a total population of approximately 330,000 people spread across 83 islands in 6 provinces. Vanuatu proudly maintains strong cultural traditions known as kastom (custom) and is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world with over 130 indigenous languages.
Vanuatu has a 15-year National Sustainable Development Plan from 2016-2030, which follows three main pillars: societal, environmental, and economic. Quality healthcare is featured under the societal pillar, with a stated goal of “a healthy population that enjoys a high quality of physical, mental, spiritual, and social well-being.” To address significant challenges in providing access to health services across a widely dispersed population spread across many islands, the Ministry of Health developed a community health system where Village Health Workers provide basic curative care and health education in rural communities. Larger communities are equipped with dispensaries and health centers staffed by nurses and midwives.
Peace Corps Vanuatu’s community health project is implemented in partnership with the Vanuatu Ministry of Health and addresses two priority and inter-related health challenges that affect the people of Vanuatu: malnutrition and lack of clean water and sanitation facilities. Vanuatu’s population currently faces a ‘double burden of malnutrition’, which is characterized by chronic undernutrition among young children and diet-related non-communicable diseases among adults. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation contributes to the spread of illness which in turn exacerbates malnutrition.
The Family Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Nutrition project has four objectives:
Volunteers also work with their host communities to identify and address environmental health issues and to facilitate access to WASH infrastructure such as water delivery systems, latrines, and waste management. They will also work with community-led health committees to define and bolster their functions by building on existing strengths. These groups often request additional assistance and training in project design and management, identifying roles and functions of participants, and incorporating sustainability plans into the construction of small-scale, community-based water and sanitation systems.
All Volunteers may take on secondary activities in areas such as disaster risk reduction, women and girls empowerment, youth development, or volunteerism.
Required Skills
Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in the health sector and one or more of the following criteria:
Apply by :
October 1, 2025
Know By
December 1, 2025
Depart On
May 1, 2026
Duration
2 years, plus 3 months training
ELIGIBILITY: Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be a U.S. citizen.
Project description
Since 1989, over 900 Volunteers have served in The Republic of Vanuatu. Home to the Melanesian Ni-Vanuatu, Vanuatu is a beautiful archipelago in the South Pacific with a total population of approximately 330,000 people spread across 83 islands in 6 provinces. Vanuatu proudly maintains strong cultural traditions known as kastom (custom) and is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world with over 130 indigenous languages.
Vanuatu has a 15-year National Sustainable Development Plan from 2016-2030, which follows three main pillars: societal, environmental, and economic. Quality healthcare is featured under the societal pillar, with a stated goal of “a healthy population that enjoys a high quality of physical, mental, spiritual, and social well-being.” To address significant challenges in providing access to health services across a widely dispersed population spread across many islands, the Ministry of Health developed a community health system where Village Health Workers provide basic curative care and health education in rural communities. Larger communities are equipped with dispensaries and health centers staffed by nurses and midwives.
Peace Corps Vanuatu’s community health project is implemented in partnership with the Vanuatu Ministry of Health and addresses two priority and inter-related health challenges that affect the people of Vanuatu: malnutrition and lack of clean water and sanitation facilities. Vanuatu’s population currently faces a ‘double burden of malnutrition’, which is characterized by chronic undernutrition among young children and diet-related non-communicable diseases among adults. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation contributes to the spread of illness which in turn exacerbates malnutrition.
The Family Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Nutrition project has four objectives:
- Increase knowledge and skills of family members to improve their water, sanitation, hygiene and nutrition practices.
- Reduce barriers to healthy WASH and nutrition practices through increasing access to clean water and improved sanitation and hygiene facilities.
- Improve community health workers’ skills to deliver health education and behavior change messages
- Activate and strengthen the capacity of health and/or water committees to support health activities in their community.
Volunteers also work with their host communities to identify and address environmental health issues and to facilitate access to WASH infrastructure such as water delivery systems, latrines, and waste management. They will also work with community-led health committees to define and bolster their functions by building on existing strengths. These groups often request additional assistance and training in project design and management, identifying roles and functions of participants, and incorporating sustainability plans into the construction of small-scale, community-based water and sanitation systems.
All Volunteers may take on secondary activities in areas such as disaster risk reduction, women and girls empowerment, youth development, or volunteerism.
Required Skills
Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in the health sector and one or more of the following criteria:
- Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field
- 5 years' professional work experience