My name is Esther Saweri, and I am a Registered Nurse currently based in Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand. I come from one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world, Papua New Guinea (PNG). While PNG is known for having over 800 languages, one of our three official languages is Tok Pisin.

The Ngalu Fānifo team recently travelled to Vanuatu to deliver community-based workshops as part of the Ngalu Fānifo program, a partnership between the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) and the Australian Government. The program 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.

The Pasifika Medical Association's (PMA) Ngalu Fānifo team recently returned from a deployment to Tonga, continuing the long-term commitment to strengthening mental health services in Tonga. The Ngalu Fānifo program, delivered in partnership with the Australian Government, seeks to build sustainable, culturally anchored mental health services by supporting local health providers, community workers, and systems.

As New Zealand celebrates Tonga Language Week, a young doctor is making history as one of the first two Tongan women accepted into the highly competitive orthopaedic training programme. Past Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) scholarship recipient, Dr Supilate Mikaele, is a proud Tongan from the villages of Makave and Kameli in Vava’u with Ha‘ano and Lofanga roots in Ha‘apai, and says the milestone is a proud moment for her and her family.

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.