Dr. Lupe So'o

Dr. Lupe So'o is a paediatrician at Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital in Apia, Samoa's national referral hospital. With 10 years of clinical experience, she specialises in childhood non-communicable diseases, neonatal care, and immunisation — areas of critical importance in Samoa, where child health has been significantly challenged by rising NCD rates and, notably, measles outbreaks. Qualified through Fiji School of Medicine and further credentialled with a DCH from the Royal College of Physicians Dublin, Dr. So'o brings internationally assessed paediatric training to Samoa's most important hospital. She is also an IMCI (Integrated Management of Childhood Illness) trainer, extending her impact beyond clinical care to the training of other health workers.

Dr. So'o completed her MBBS at the Fiji School of Medicine, the premier medical training institution serving Pacific Island nations. She subsequently obtained the DCH (Diploma in Child Health) from the Royal College of Physicians Dublin, a respected qualification reflecting structured postgraduate paediatric training assessed to Irish and international standards. She is certified in Neonatal Resuscitation Programme (NRP) and serves as an IMCI Trainer, enabling her to train frontline health workers in the recognition and management of common childhood illnesses. She participates in Pacific paediatric networks and WHO-supported child health programme capacity building.

Dr. So'o manages the full spectrum of paediatric conditions relevant to the Pacific Island context. Her childhood NCD practice addresses the growing burden of obesity-related complications, childhood diabetes, asthma, and hypertension in Samoan children — conditions increasingly prevalent given the high NCD rates in Pacific nations. Her neonatal care expertise covers neonatal resuscitation, neonatal sepsis, jaundice management, and care of low-birth-weight infants. Her immunisation expertise encompasses the management and delivery of Samoa's national immunisation programme, and she contributes to vaccine safety monitoring following Samoa's 2019-2020 measles epidemic response and national immunisation recovery programme.

Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital is the national referral hospital for Samoa, serving both local residents and expatriate families and visitors across Apia and the broader island. Dr. So'o consults in English and Samoan, facilitating communication for international families. The hospital provides paediatric inpatient and outpatient services within a Pacific Island healthcare context, with established referral pathways to New Zealand and Australia for cases requiring tertiary specialist intervention. Faleolo International Airport connects Samoa directly to Auckland, Sydney, and regional Pacific hubs.

Dr. So'o has been recognised by the Samoan Ministry of Health and regional Pacific health bodies for her contributions to paediatric care and immunisation programme delivery in Samoa. Her IMCI Trainer status reflects peer recognition of her expertise and her commitment to multiplying her clinical impact through healthcare worker education. She has been commended for her role in Samoa's immunisation recovery following the 2019 measles epidemic and her sustained contribution to childhood NCD prevention in the Pacific context.