Vanuavatu Islanders Grateful For Arrival Of Medical Services To Their Doorstep
Ms Usa said they would have had to spend hundreds of dollars to send their children or grandchildren to Suva to be circumcised.
Friday 19 February 2021 | 12:54
Autanaisa Usa and Aminio Bale with their circumcised grandson Aminio Ligavatu, 7, and Sefanaia Ligavatu, 5, at their home in Taira Village on Vanuavatu Island on February 17, 2021. Photo: Inoke Rabonu
When a team of health professionals brought medical services to Vanuavatu Island on Wednesday, it was a load off Autanaisa Usa’s shoulders.
This meant that she didn’t have to send her grandchildren to Suva to be circumcised.
On Wednesday, her seven-year-old grandson Aminio Ligavatu and seven other young men from the island were circumcised.
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The health services were provided by a team of health professionals led by Surgical Registrar Dr Sela Koyamaibole from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services. They were part of the United Nations and the Fijian Government Joint Mission to Lau carrying out medical consultations and minor surgeries on the islands.
Ms Usa said they would have had to spend hundreds of dollars to send their children or grandchildren to Suva to be circumcised.
“But to have health professionals come and visit us in our island and carry out this much needed services, we are truly grateful. We would always wait for December when we have saved enough to be able to send the children across to Suva for these services and it is quite costly keeping in mind our remote location,” she said.
Surgical Registrar Dr Sela Koyamaibole said the team had been busy ever since arriving into the Lau Group.
“Our main aim is to offer the minimal surgical treatments that we could offer in the seven islands we are visiting,” he said.
“When in outreach villagers save a lot more than for them coming to the city, when we see one patient in the islands we think of the amount of money they use up for a simple surgery.
“When we come to the islands to perform our services, the villagers are saving a whole lot more.”
He said the team had mostly carried out circumcisions, removal of lump and bumps, treatment of ear infections and irrigation and the also the general practitioners consultation.
He added that the reactions from the villagers had been overwhelming on the services provided to them.
Edited by Jonathan Bryce
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