Results for Health

As dengue cases increase to 52 on Tongatapu as of this afternoon, 5 February, a medical officer from the Ministry of Health admitted they lack the ability to treat hemorrhagic dengue because they are waiting to replace a broken centrifuge. By Eleanor Gee.

A dengue outbreak has been declared in Tonga. One girl (12) has died, with 19 confirmed cases across Tongatapu. The girl from New Zealand who died on 24 January at Vaiola Hospital was visiting family over the Christmas holidays when she caught dengue.

Testing kits that can detect HIV and Syphilis infections using finger prick blood or serum will be piloted in Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, Palau and Vanuatu, over the next three months starting in September.

Vitamin D helps our bodies regulate levels of calcium and phosphate – nutrients that keep bones, teeth, and muscles healthy. Often, sunlight on our skin can be enough to enable us to produce all the vitamin D we need. But when sunshine is lacking, vitamin D must be ingested, and it can be difficult to meet the recommended levels from food alone. This matters because the health benefits of adequate vitamin D intake may be even greater than previously thought. Even obesity may have connections to vitamin D- which aids weight loss.

Father of six, Joseph Finau, is becoming a role model for obese Pacific Islanders after losing an incredible 100 kilos in two years. Finau who lives in South Auckland, New Zealand, weighed 220kg in 2014.

HRH Princess Pilolevu Tuita opened the 20th Anniversary Conference of the Pasifika Medical Association, on Thursday, 25 August at the Rendezvous Hotel in Auckland.

The Pacific is on the global frontlines of the fight against Non-Communicable Diseases and the time has come for action with deadlines to reverse the crisis without delay, regional leaders heard at the opening of the Pacific Non-Communicable Diseases Summit in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, this morning.

The most serious challenge confronting the Tongan society today is the physical health of our people, HM King Tupou VI said, when he opened the 2016-17 session of parliament this morning, 2 June, in a thoughtful speech that also challenged legislators to educate Tonga's children for global employment, and urged them to engage with all stake holders in the economy and not unilaterally change operating conditions, that may stifle growth.

Australia will donate up to $500k to combat the Zika virus as part of an aid package to Pacific island countries to stop it from spreading and the initial focus of fighting the virus would be in Tonga, after it was confirmed five people contracted the virus and 259 suspected last week in Tonga.