The Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Group remains deeply committed to empowering the health aspirations of our regional partners. This commitment was seen with the recent deployment of an adult cardiology visiting medical team to Samoa.

The Pasifika Medical Association Medical Assistance Team (PACMAT) have recently returned from their mission in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, where they supported the local health workforce for the 53rd annual Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) leaders' meeting, held on August 26th - 30th 2024.

Rasela-Joy Gibson is committed to inspiring more Pacific students to pursue careers in health and to explore the diverse opportunities within physiotherapy. Hailing from Gataivai, Savaii, and Salua, Manono in Samoa, as well as Ashburton, New Zealand, she currently leads the Allied Health Inpatient Team at Kenepuru Community Hospital, Capital & Coast, and Hutt Valley.

The Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Group reflects on the stories of families from the Pacific who traveled to Suva through the New Zealand Medical Treatment Scheme’s (NZMTS) innovative project, the Uto Bulabula – Healthy Hearts initiative, funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and coordinated by the PMA.

For World Physiotherapy Day, Eti Televave reflects on his journey as a physiotherapist, facing unique challenges and celebrating triumphs in serving the Pacific and Māori community.

The Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Group joins Aotearoa New Zealand in expressing their heartfelt condolences to the family of the Māori King, Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, who peacefully passed away at the age of 69 last week. Thousands have gathered at Tūrangawaewae Marae to pay their respects to the Kīngitanga, including guests from around the Pacific region, remembering him for his legacy of social justice and advocacy.

The Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Group has partnered with the Australian Government to deliver a three-year programme, the Ngalu Fānifo Regional Project, in Tonga and Vanuatu, aiming to improve mental health and wellbeing by strengthening the capacity of health and community providers to provide mental health care.

Recently, the University of Auckland (UoA) hosted the Pacific Paediatric Palliative Care Education Programme workshop, bringing together a group of dedicated medical professionals from Fiji, Kiribati, Sāmoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu to explore paediatric palliative care and how it can be applied in their respective countries. The two-day workshop is the first component of the multi-phased paediatric palliative care programme, and was guided by specialist palliative care nurse, Dr. Gemma Aburn, fostering a space to talanoa about best practices in this field who spoke to its criticality.

Three esteemed regional dentists from the Oral Health Pacific Islands Alliance, have achieved a remarkable milestone by being inducted as Fellows of the International College of Dentists (ICD). Through the support of the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA), the three oral health specialists were able to attend and celebrate their ceremony, held at the Te Pae Convention Centre in Christchurch. 

At the request of the Tonga Government, the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Group deployed the PMA Medical Assistance Team (PACMAT) last Friday to support the annual Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) leaders meeting, starting today in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, until August 30th 2024. The meeting has seen a significant influx of Pacific leaders gathered in the country's capital to discuss regional issues, solutions and other key items on the agenda.

The courage, the whispers, the drama. The year 2024 marks the 45th year since Miss Heilala was established. To each household, the legacy of the Miss Heilala pageant sits on a spectrum of excitement and enthusiasm to toxicity and disappointment. Yet, every year the Tongan community both local as well as amongst the diaspora tune in to watch as the contestants vie for the title of Miss Heilala.

Malo e lelei, My name is Dr. Sela Finau and I am a proud daughter of the Pacific. I am currently in my second year of being a junior doctor at Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland. I hail from the villages of Tatakamotonga, Haveluloto, Niutoua and Lofanga from the Kingdom of Tonga.