Dr. Marie Kalmet

Dr. Marie Kalmet is a senior medical officer at Vila Central Hospital (VCH), Vanuatu's national referral hospital and primary healthcare centre for Port Vila and the surrounding islands. With 11 years of clinical experience, Dr. Kalmet is a highly regarded generalist practitioner with particular expertise in maternal health and tropical infectious disease management.

Vanuatu is a linguistically extraordinary nation — home to more than 100 indigenous languages — and Dr. Kalmet's trilingual ability in English, French, and Bislama (Vanuatu's national creole language) makes her an exceptionally effective communicator with patients from across this diverse archipelago. Vanuatu's healthcare system is influenced by both Australian and French health traditions, reflecting the country's former joint British-French colonial administration.

Dr. Kalmet is the VCH maternity ward lead and is deeply committed to improving maternal health outcomes in Vanuatu, where maternal mortality remains a public health challenge. She is also a WHO-certified IMCI trainer, building the capacity of community health workers and nurses throughout Vanuatu's islands in integrated management of childhood illness.

Dr. Kalmet completed her MBBS at the Fiji School of Medicine in Suva, the primary medical training pathway for Vanuatu medical graduates. She holds a Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, which has been central to her focus on maternal health at Vila Central Hospital.

She is a WHO-certified IMCI (Integrated Management of Childhood Illness) trainer and has been trained in Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (EmONC) through the Pacific Maternal and Neonatal Health programme. She has completed a clinical attachment in obstetrics and gynaecology at Colonial War Memorial Hospital, Fiji, and completed a short course at the Queensland Centre for Mothers and Babies in Brisbane, Australia.

Dr. Kalmet's principal clinical expertise is in obstetric and maternal care, managing antenatal care, labour and delivery, postnatal care, and obstetric emergencies including postpartum haemorrhage, eclampsia, and obstructed labour. She provides the majority of obstetric care at VCH and trains midwives and nurses in safe delivery practices.

In tropical medicine, Dr. Kalmet manages malaria — which is endemic in Vanuatu — typhoid fever, leptospirosis, dengue, and the range of acute infections encountered in the tropical Pacific. She also manages non-communicable diseases including hypertension and diabetes, which are increasingly prevalent among Vanuatu's urban population.

Dr. Kalmet is dedicated to serving Vanuatu's communities and improving maternal health outcomes across the island nation. She has contributed to the Vanuatu Ministry of Health's maternal mortality review process and participated in a UNFPA Pacific maternal health assessment. She has presented maternal health data at the Pacific Health Ministers Meeting.

She is an active participant in the WHO Pacific Maternal and Newborn Health network and contributes to IMCI training materials adapted for the Pacific island context. Her work on training community health workers in recognition of obstetric danger signs has been implemented across Vanuatu's provincial health facilities.

Vila Central Hospital serves as Vanuatu's national referral centre and provides care for patients from Vanuatu's 80+ inhabited islands. Complex cases requiring specialist care — particularly in surgery, oncology, cardiology, and neonatal intensive care — are referred to Fiji or Australia. Vanuatu's government operates a medical referral programme for overseas specialist treatment.

International visitors to Vanuatu who need medical care can access the VCH outpatient department. Medical evacuation insurance is strongly recommended for visitors, as specialist services are limited in Vanuatu.

Dr. Kalmet has been recognised by the Vanuatu Ministry of Health for her contributions to maternal health at Vila Central Hospital and her training of community health workers in obstetric danger sign recognition. She received a commendation from UNFPA Pacific for her work on improving access to skilled birth attendance in Vanuatu and has been acknowledged by WHO for her IMCI training contributions.