Back to Current Cohort Lanique Pitasua
Solomon Islands
Master of Public Health, The Australian National University
Lanique is a public health professional who is passionate about strengthening community collaboration and decision-making in Solomon Islands’ health system and programs. Based in Honiara, she has held a range of roles in academia and with the World Health Organisation (WHO), focusing on communicable diseases, health and wellbeing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lanique saw first-hand the need for strong leadership across all areas of the health sector. In her role as WHO’s Program Officer for Communicable Diseases, Lanique was an instrumental member of a working group tasked with generating COVID-19 response funding. The group secured close to (USD) $2 Million in grants.
Lanique graduated at the top of her class and received the Dean's Honours and Excellence Award (2019) when completing her Bachelor of Dietetics and Nutrition at Fiji National University. She was also elected Vice President of Solomon Islands Public Health Alliance and received a student leadership scholarship award from the Davey Lodge. She hopes to address the low rate of vaccinations among young Solomon Islanders that may contribute to poor health outcomes and hinder development in regional areas.