Josephine Herman

Josephine Aumea Herman is a Cook Islands physician and public servant. Since June 2018 she has served as Secretary of Health in the Cook Islands government.

A physician with a research PhD,[1] Herman studied medicine in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and at the University of Auckland.[2] Her doctoral advisors were Shanthi Ameratunga and Rod Jackson.[1] She is a volunteer with the organization DAISI, Doctors Assisting in South-Pacific Islands, and is vice-chair of Pacific Heads of Health.[3][4][5][2] In her official capacity she has been responsible for coordinating the government's response to the 2019 outbreak of dengue fever on the islands.[6][7] She has spoken of the need to preserve Cook Islands Māori.[8] Herman is the aunt of current Cook Islands Secretary of Internal Affairs Anne Herman; the two were named to their department secretary roles at the same time by Prime Minister Henry Puna.[2]