Standing with Science, Saving Lives and Strengthening Communities

Henao Boara believes that evidence, teamwork, and trust are the foundations of protecting communities.

As a registered nurse and surveillance officer at Gizo Hospital, she works on the front lines of public health, where science guides every decision. For Henao, science is a daily tool that helps her interpret warning signs and act quickly. It’s the difference between containing an outbreak and allowing it to spread.


Henao dispensing medicines during a mass drug administration event. Photo: WHO/H. Boara

“Science is very important,” she says. “It helps me apply what I’ve learned to identify outbreaks and understand how diseases affect our country and the world.”

In a province where communities are scattered and access can be difficult, health threats can escalate quickly. Every fever, rash, or unusual cluster of illness matters. What may seem minor can be something far more serious.

Henao does not rely on guesswork. She investigates, verifies, and determines the cause of illness using evidence. One missed signal could put entire communities at risk. That is why strong partnerships—with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, the World Health Organization, and community stakeholders—are essential to ensuring fast, coordinated responses.

For Henao, science is about timely, practical action, not just patient data or laboratory results. This was evident during the 2021 rotavirus outbreak in Gizo. As reports emerged, she provided daily surveillance updates and used the data to guide her community work. 

Community awareness increased, vaccine catch-up campaigns were implemented, and clinical care improved—especially for children under five, who were most vulnerable. Health workers adapted quickly. Children with diarrhoea were triaged and treated immediately. Instead of being discharged too early, patients were kept under supervision until they fully recovered. The response was urgent, practical, and grounded in evidence.


Henao in Manila during her FETP training. Photo: WHO/H. Boara

Her experience was further strengthened through the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP), which she describes as a turning point. It expanded her skills beyond clinical care, enabling her to analyze data, detect patterns, and intervene before outbreaks spread from one village—or island—to another. “It gave me more knowledge and confidence,” she says. “It helped me respond better.”

Henao has seen how science empowers health workers. In 2023, she contributed to scientific writing in preparation for the 17th Pacific Games in Honiara, helping document lessons from field-based disease surveillance, so others could learn. For her, public health is not only about responding in the moment, but also about capturing knowledge, sharing evidence, and strengthening future responses.

Yet one of her greatest challenges is not disease itself, but misinformation. In communities where rumors spread easily through word of mouth or social media, trust in science can be fragile. Henao often encounters people who believe and share misinformation, which sometimes frustrates her. Rather than dismissing them, she takes time to explain, educate, and rebuild trust. “As a nurse, I know the community trusts me,” she says. “I explain what really happens and help them understand the truth.” This trust-building is essential. Science only protects people when they believe in it enough to act.

For Henao, public health begins with everyday choices. Her message for World Health Day is simple: practice good hygiene, maintain clean surroundings, follow evidence-based advice, and reject misinformation. Small preventive actions, taken consistently, can stop illness before it spreads.

“If everyone starts at home,” she says, “then it spreads through the community.” This idea reflects the core of public health, that the well-being of one household affects the next, and that small but informed actions can create a ripple effect across entire communities.

On World Health Day 2026, Henao’s story is a reminder that science profoundly affects people’s lives. Science is present in the nurse investigating a suspicious fever, in the surveillance report that triggers action, in the vaccine catch-up campaign that protects a child, and in families that choose facts over fear, thereby enabling community members to live long, healthy lives.