RFK Jr as Secretary of Health will be a disaster for Samoa’s public health

By Lance Polu/

Apia, Samoa – 03 February 2025 – The Director General of Health, Aiono Dr Alec Ekeroma, has described the nomination of Robert F Kennedy Junior as the US Secretary of Health and Human Services as a disaster for Samoa’s public health.

Kennedy had been grilled by the Senate at his confirmation hearing last week and he was questioned about his time in Samoa in June 2019, months before the measles outbreak, which killed 83 mainly babies.

Speaking on the Washington based Democracy Now, Aiono said Kennedy spread anti vax misinformation prior to the measles outbreak on 16 October 2019.

Kennedy visited Samoa as a guest at the Independence celebrations in June where he met the Prime Minister at the time, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and discussed how Kennedy’s charity Childrens Health Defence could help improve Samoas health system.

According to Aiono, he came to talk about some data base, and spoke to the Director General of Health, “and his presence did not improve our ICT capabilities.”

At the time he visited, Samoa was at its lowest vaccination rate after two babies died at Safotu Hospital having been administered the wrong MMR mix and the two nurses responsible had been jailed for manslaughter.

“So, Kennedy’s visited a few months before, actually emboldened the anti-vaccine campaigners locally and New Zealand who sowed the vaccine hesitancy in the country,” said Aiono.

The Director General of Health, Aiono Dr Alec Ekeroma appearing on Democracy Now.

So, when measles came from New Zealand, it just took off due to the low vaccination rates and Samoa declared an epidemic in October after 16 had died.

International assistance of doctors and nurses from many countries around the world came to Samoa and drove the vaccination rate to 90% in a few months.

Samoa declared a state of emergency in mid November 2019 that enforced MMR vaccinations after 6 recorded deaths from measles since the outbreak a month before.

In November, Kennedy wrote to then Prime Minister claiming that it was not the virus killing the children but the vaccine itself.

During last weeks Senate hearing, Kennedy claimed nobody knows what killed those children even though the vaccination later stopped more children dying from measles.

If he is confirmed, Kennedy will Head the Health Ministry with a $2000 billion budget and employing 90 thousand people.

Four brothers carrying a baby sisters coffin lost to the measles epidemic in 2019.

For Samoa, Aiono says that will be a disaster for the country’s public health system.

“Already there’s going to be reduction to US funding to UN and WHO that’s going to affect our capability here. And then add in Bob Kennedy in this role, that’s going to slow down the flow of vaccines to us; that is going to harm the state of public health in this country so its going to be a disaster for us,” said Aiono.

“With someone prominent in the world spitting out anti vaccine sentiments emboldening anti-vaxxers around the world and in Samoa, its going to be a public health disaster for us,” Aiono told Democracy Now.

During the measles epidemic, one family lost three babies; two sisters and a brother, the oldest 3 years. There was a shortage of children’s coffins that had to be shipped from New Zealand to bury the young victims.