In August, the islands of Lifuka and Foa in the Ha'apai group, will receive a visit from a US Navy ship bringing a team of doctors, veterinarians, dentists and engineers who will conduct medical and civic action programs ashore.

An annual humanitarian and civic assistance mission conducted by the US Pacific Fleet, is providing assistance to the Oceania region for the first time. Called the "Pacific Partnership Mission", it includes the five countriess, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Marshall Islands.

A Pre Deployment Site Survey (PDDS) team who arrived in Nuku'alofa on board a USAF C-40 aircraft on March 26, met with Government officials, the Tonga Defence Services, overseas aid agencies, NGO's and other stakeholders to discuss the upcoming mission at the Vilai Defence Headquarters.

LCDR Scott Dixon, the team leader said the mission will be held in Foa and Lifuka in Ha'apai and will provide assistance in medical and engineering projects, such as the refurbishment of buildings, improving of water supplies and hence provide medical supplies and treatment.

"The purpose of our visit to Tonga is to identify the sites that we will provide assistance to," he said.

Eight out of the 14 PDDS team were to travel to Ha'apai on Saturday, March 28 to conduct the final site survey, liaison and coordination before they leave Tonga on April 4.

USS Dubuque

LCDR Dixon also added, this year's Pacific Partnership to Oceania would be based on board USS Dubuque (LPD 8), which is an Austin-class amphibious transport dock ship of the US Naval Surfaces Forces Pacific based in San Diego.

USS Dubuque is expected to be in Tonga from August 24 to September 3 and will bring up to 700 people consisting of the crew, US personnel team, NGO's and medical people, including veterinarians and dentists who will conduct medical and civic action programs ashore.

He said the ship has the ability to transport and quickly unload heavy equipment such as construction equipment and medical supplies. But prior to its arrival, an advanced force team of six people would be in Tonga a month earlier to coordinate and finalise all the planning.

It was revealed there were many projects submitted from Tonga for the mission, but Ha'apai was selected because it fitted the short time frame of the mission. But the overall Pacific Partnership Mission will run for four months.

Delivers services

The Pacific Partnership Mission was initiated in 2004 in response to countries involved in the 2004 Asia tsunami. It works together with partner nations, non-governmental organisations and U.S Government agencies.

It aims is to help improve the lives of the people it comes in contact with through the delivery of valuable services such as medical, dental, veterinary, engineering, construction, public health, public safety and emergency response services in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2008 under the Pacific Partnership, the USNS Mercy, one of the U.S. Navy's two hospital ships, conducted a four-months humanitarian mission to the Philippines, Vietnam, the Federated States of Micronesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea.

The team provided a variety of medical, dental, educational and preventive medicine services to more than 90,000 patients.