ASUM Outreach, Canon Medical and the wonderful team at Vaiola Hospital in Tonga are thrilled to announce an opportunity to provide ultrasound education and training, both online and in Tonga.
Tonga is a Polynesian kingdom of more than 170 South Pacific islands, many uninhabited, most lined in white beaches and coral reefs and covered with tropical rainforest. Tonga’s population is 107,995 (as of 5 June 2022 sourced from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/tonga-population/). Most of the Tongan population lives in the three major island groups, and nearly three-fourths live on Tongatapu Island. The urban population has been steadily growing and now accounts for about one-third of the total population. Tonga has one national referral hospital, three community hospitals, 14 health centres and 34 reproductive and child health clinics. About 90% of health services are provided at hospitals. There are few specialists at the national referral hospital.
Our initial program will begin with obstetrics. This will include online lectures in February followed by volunteers visiting Tonga, specifically Vaiola Hospital, to provide hands-on training. Training will encompass Prince Ngu Hospital and Princess Fusipala Hospital. As the hands-on training will encompass a broader scope of practice than obstetrics, we would encourage volunteers to indicate their specialty areas of practice when applying to volunteer.
We are extremely grateful for the support of Canon Medical in delivering this outreach initiative and the alignment with our vision to create healthier lives for all by driving ultrasound excellence.
Canon Medical aims to improve the quality of life for all people. Delivering innovations in ultrasound and medical imaging that are designed to improve the lives of patients, clinicians and administrators is what shapes the company’s Made for Life philosophy. In line with this philosophy, they aim to build stronger and more successful communities and are proud supporters of the ASUM Outreach program.
A draft program for our February virtual lectures and hands on training in Tonga to be held in May can be found here.
