The past six weeks have seen monumental efforts in facilitating paediatric cardiac surgeries of sixteen children from Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, Fiji and Kiribati, at the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children's Hospital, in Fiji. These lifesaving operations come under the Uto Bulabula — Healthy Hearts initiative, a ground-breaking regional approach that commenced in 2024, providing Pacific children with a new chance at life.

The New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme (NZMTS) continues to support Samoa’s aspirations for strengthening its national laboratory services, particularly through workforce development. As part of the NZMTS Strengthening Country Capacity component, an initiative focused on building health workforce capability and resilience across the Pacific, two medical laboratory technicians from Samoa Laboratory Services, Etuini Nafoi and Folole Bartley, recently travelled to Wellington, New Zealand. There, they completed the Advanced Laboratory Quality Management training course delivered by the Pacific Pathology Training Centre (PPTC).

Recipient of the 2024/2025 PMA Knowledge Hub Master’s Scholarship, Fetuoleaniva Hunkin, has completed her research exploring the wellbeing of Pacific fathers diagnosed with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the impact on their families. Her study involved talanoa sessions with 10 Pacific fathers, five of whom were joined by family members.

Our PMA Auckland office hosted a Market Day as part of Women's Health Week, celebrating Pacific women in business. This national awareness week shines a light on the many roles women play in society and the importance of ensuring their health and wellbeing are not overlooked. Under the theme of Empowering Women to Prioritise Their Health and Wellbeing, we spoke to some of our incredible vendors about what this means to them.

Former PMA Data Analyst, Aniva Bell, recently took part in the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA), an immersive, live-in programme designed to foster leadership, teamwork, and communication among emerging young professionals.

My name is Annette Garae and I come from a mixed parentage of Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea (PNG). My father is from the island of Ambae in Vanuatu and my late mum was from the Central Province in PNG.

Our Clinical Data Analyst, Natasha Watson, recently took part in the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA), an immersive, live-in programme designed to foster leadership, teamwork, and communication among emerging young professionals.

PMA Member and Registered Nurse at the Auckland City Hospital, Karaia Teiwaki, shared some reflections in light of Kiribati Language Week.

The Uto Bulabula - Healthy Hearts initiative will return for it’s second year to continue delivering life-saving cardiac surgeries to children across the Pacific, including, for the first time, patients from Tonga.

The Board and leadership team of the Pasifika Medical Association Group strongly and unequivocally refute any allegation of impropriety in our funding, employment, or procurement practices.

The Pasifika Medical Association's (PMA) Ngalu Fānifo Team has returned from their latest deployment, continuing their long-term commitment to strengthening mental healthcare in Vanuatu. The Ngalu Fānifo project is a partnership between PMA and the Australian Government and seeks to improve mental health services and community wellbeing by strengthening the capacity of local health providers, community workers, and systems to deliver culturally anchored, sustainable mental health care.

In recognition of Dietitians Week NZ, we share the story of Finau Taungapea, Director of Health Services and Senior Dietitian at Pacific Trust Otago. Finau’s journey into nutrition and health promotion is deeply personal, sparked by the sudden loss of her father and her commitment to breaking the cycle of poor health in her own family.