Two ambulances and equipment were handed over today, 4 May to the Ministry of Health from the Rotary Club of Nuku’alofa (RCN).

Worth approximately $100,000 pa'anga, the procurement of the two ambulances was through the generosity of St John’s Ambulance New Zealand who provided the vehicles and stretchers at no cost.

Minister for Health, Hon. Dr
 Saia Piukala, commended Rotary’s continued contribution toward 
the Tongan Government’s health resources as the country
 recovers from a volcanic eruption, tsunami and Covid-19 outbreak.

“We are grateful for this significant gesture of goodwill that we have received from Rotary today and their ongoing assistance to Tonga. These ambulances will have a substantial impact on reducing the time it takes a patient to travel to Vaiola Hospital. The ultimate goal of this service is to help those in need of assistance.”

He also said that this assistance is in line with the ministry’s strategy following the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, to outsource the medical service s
to the Community Health Centres.

"Normally, when people on the east would call the hospital for emergency assistance, the ambulance would travel from Vaiola to the east, which took our team a while to reach the destination. But I believe if there is going to be an ambulance based at the Mu’a Health Centre, it will significantly reduce the travel time to the destination where the help is needed.”

Dr 'Amanaki Fakakovikaetau, a RCN Board member, acknowledged the coordinated efforts of RCN and its generous partners in New Zealand who made this project possible.

“This is a really important moment and is a perfect illustration of how Rotary’s collective action and global partnerships have enabled us to support projects in Tonga that have a real lasting impact on people’s lives. We remain steadfast in our commitment to work together to assist the local community in addressing their
prioritised areas for improvement through on the ground support and funding.”

Dr Fakakovikaetau also noted the ongoing support of Rotary to the development of their dental services, most recently, to the ‘Eua Dental Clinic.

This included developing services to help children with hearing difficulties and the Prosthetic and Rehabilitation Department at Vaiola Hospital.

Meanwhile, Swire Shipping (NZ) Limited sponsored the shipping costs from Auckland to Tonga, and Rotary New Zealand World Community Services Limited were instrumental in coordinating the project and vehicle delivery to Tonga.