Dr. Raina Joel

Dr. Raina Joel is a public health physician at Majuro Hospital and the RMI Ministry of Health and Human Services, leading NCD prevention, disease surveillance, and one of the Pacific's most distinctive public health responsibilities — monitoring and addressing the ongoing health legacy of US nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands.

Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands, primarily at Bikini and Enewetak Atolls. The health effects — including elevated rates of thyroid disease, certain cancers, and reproductive health problems — continue to affect communities in affected atolls. Dr. Joel works within the Pacific Nuclear Health Initiative and RMI government programmes to monitor affected populations and ensure appropriate health follow-up.

Beyond nuclear health, Dr. Joel leads the RMI's NCD prevention programme targeting the world-leading rates of diabetes and hypertension, and manages communicable disease surveillance across the atoll chain. She is bilingual in English and Marshallese.

Dr. Joel completed her MD and Master of Public Health (MPH) at the University of Hawaii, specialising in Pacific health epidemiology and environmental health. Her MPH research examined thyroid cancer incidence in communities affected by nuclear testing in the northern Marshall Islands atolls.

She has completed WHO Field Epidemiology Training (FETP Pacific) and has participated in radiation health monitoring training through the US Department of Energy's Marshall Islands Program and the Pacific Nuclear Health Initiative. She completed a public health fellowship at the University of Hawaii's Pacific Health Research and Education Institute (PHREI).

Dr. Joel's public health expertise encompasses NCD surveillance, communicable disease control, immunisation programme management, and radiation health monitoring in affected atoll communities. She coordinates the RMI's NCD STEPS Survey implementation, manages the national tuberculosis control programme in collaboration with clinical staff, and advises on NCD prevention policy.

In radiation health, she coordinates community health screenings in affected northern atoll communities, monitors thyroid disease incidence, and liaises with the US Department of Energy's Marshall Islands programme and international research partners on nuclear-affected community health outcomes.

Dr. Joel is dedicated to serving Marshallese communities and addressing both the NCD epidemic and the continuing legacy of nuclear testing on Marshallese health. She has published in the Pacific Journal of Medical Sciences and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on thyroid disease and NCD outcomes in the Marshall Islands, and has presented at the Pacific Public Health Conference and Pacific Nuclear Health Initiative symposia.

She collaborates with the University of Hawaii, US CDC, US Department of Energy, and international nuclear health research partners on monitoring health outcomes in nuclear-affected Marshallese communities.

As a public health physician, Dr. Joel's primary work is population health. She can provide advisory consultations for international researchers, US government agencies, NGOs, and development partners working on Marshall Islands health issues, particularly NCD surveillance and nuclear health legacy.

For individual clinical care in the Marshall Islands, patients should contact Majuro Hospital's clinical departments. Comprehensive medical evacuation insurance is essential for all visitors given the very limited specialist services available. Specialist care is referred to Fiji, Hawaii, or the Philippines.

Dr. Joel has been recognised by the RMI Ministry of Health for her contributions to NCD prevention and nuclear health monitoring programmes. She received a Pacific Nuclear Health Initiative Research Award and a Pacific Community (SPC) Public Health Excellence commendation. She has been acknowledged by the WHO Pacific Office for her contributions to NCD STEPS Survey implementation in the Marshall Islands.