PORT VILA – A Christchurch nurse has returned to Vanuatu to run a new health centre in the hope of helping address the region’s “huge need for healthcare”.

Melissa Thacker said the centre would focus on women and children, aiming to create a “safe place” for free medical services, health education and counselling.

Thacker spent much of 2015 in Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila – including several months on Pacific Hope, a medical ship run by Christian aid group Marine Reach.

Thacker said there were specific issues they hoped to address on their return trip this year. “Vanuatu is a very male-dominated society, the men are seen and heard, however the women aren’t,” she said.

“Some statistics suggest up to 85 per cent of girls before the age of 15 have been sexually abused.”

The new Family Care Centre on the outskirts of Port Vila aimed to “be a place where people feel safe and encouraged.

“We will be working with them to build up their sense of value and importance, and who they are as individual.”

The centre would also carry out primary health care for the wider community, including wound care and diagnosing chronic diseases.

Thacker said her family had been “really encouraging” of her work, with both of her parents planning a trip to Vanuatu soon to lend a hand.

“My dad is putting in the final stages of the kitchen, and mum is a nurse, so she’s helping to get everything ready for opening.”

Marine Reach founder David Cowie said it was “essential” they set up a permanent centre in the small island nation.

“Vanuatu has a serious problem with child abuse, and we felt like we needed to do something.”

Providing health care was the beginning of a process they hoped would bring about a cultural change towards gender equality, he said.

“We’ve built a centre with a medical unit, but it also has a lecture area for discussing domestic abuse, anger management and any other subjects that could begin to address these issues. It all starts with families coming in, so we can begin a process of support and counselling.”

Cowie said appointing Thacker as centre coordinator was an easy choice as she was “our Mother Theresa for Vanuatu”.

“She has an ability to communicate with people, especially the women, and they learn to trust her.

The $300,000 centre was built over 15 months, with donations coming from churches and individuals in New Zealand and the United States.

Marine Reach had treated 450,000 people since they began serving the Pacific community 25 years ago.

“We’ve had at least one million people involved in our education and community development programmes,” Cowie said.

- Stuff