Viopapa Annandale-Atherton
Born
Viopapa Annandale

Samoa
Alma materUniversity of Otago
Known forThe first Samoan woman to graduate in medicine from the University of Otago

Viopapa Annandale-Atherton (also known as Papali'i Dr Viopapa Annandale-Atherton) is a Samoan medical doctor who has worked to improve the health of women and children in the Pacific Islands. She was the first Pacific Island woman to graduate from a New Zealand university.

Early life and education

Born in Samoa, Annandale-Atherton is the daughter of Edward Annandale and Sina Nelson.[1] Annandale-Atherton received a scholarship to study at Epsom Girls Grammar School.[2][3] She studied medicine at the University of Otago, graduating MB ChB in 1964.[4][5]

Career

After graduation Annandale-Atherton went to Edinburgh where she was a house surgeon at the Royal Infirmary.[3] She studied at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine receiving a Diploma in Tropical Health.[3][5]

Annandale-Atherton has served on many health organisations: the World Health Organisation's (WHO) advisory committee on long-acting contraceptives, as head of Samoa's Maternal and Child Health Department (1971–1982), one of the founders of a school for special needs (1979), on a Samoan body looking into domestic violence and human rights (1994), and president of Soroptimist International of Samoa.[3]

In 1992, after many years of moving between the United Kingdom and Samoa, she returned to Samoa to set up a general practice.[3]

Annandale-Atherton has worked to improve the health and welfare of women and children in the Pacific Islands.[5] This has included obtaining international funding for projects from USAID, the EU and WHO to support women and children, and initiating family planning services and vaccination programmes in Samoa.[3] She has been active in the Pan-Pacific and South East Asian Women's Association and was international president from 2004 to 2010.[3][6][7]

Honours and awards

Annandale-Atherton received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Otago in 2019.[8][5]

Personal life

Annandale-Atherton's great-grandfather was Thomas Annandale, a Professor of Clinical Surgery in Scotland.[3][9]

Her grandfather was Samoan businessman and politician Ta'isi Olaf Frederick Nelson.[10]

She met her husband John Atherton in Edinburgh and they had two sons.[3] Her father in law was Noel Atherton.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Papalii Dr. Viopapa Atherton, 79; A mother of two". Samoan Observer. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  2. ↑ "Epsom Girls Grammar School "Old Girls Association" Newsletter September 2020" (PDF). www.eggs.school.nz. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "A woman of the Pacific". www.otago.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  4. ↑ "Graduate roll". The Early Medical Women of New Zealand. 25 May 2020. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 McPhee, Elena (17 May 2019). "English among doctorate recipients". Otago Daily Times Online News. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  6. ↑ "Pan-Pacific and South East Asian Women's Association". gg.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  7. ↑ "International Presidents". PPSEAWA International - Pan-Pacific & Southeast Asia Women's Association. 8 June 2010. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "Dr Viopapa Annandale-Atherton and Sir Bill English, both Honorary Doctors of Law | The Governor-General of New Zealand". gg.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "Papalii Dr. Viopapa Atherton, 79; A mother of two". Samoan Observer. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  10. ↑ O'Brien, Patricia (2018). Tautai: Sāmoa, World History, and the Life of Ta'isi O.F. Nelson. doi:10.1515/9780824872397. ISBN 978-0-8248-7239-7. OCLC 1024033073.
  11. ↑ "A Study of Annandale Families. Noel Atherton". annandale.one-name.net. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
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