New Zealand to fund $4.8m health partnership programme for Tonga ^Featured

The New Zealand government is funding a NZ$4.8 million dollar partnership programme over the next four years.

Mahuta said under the partnership, Massey University would help Tonga plan for service needs, train staff, and allocate healthcare workers to where they were most-needed.

She said New Zealand was proud to be a key partner in Tonga's health sector.

It had provided vaccines, testing kits, testing facilities, genomic sequencing and technical support to the country as it tackled the Covid-19 pandemic and the new deal was particularly important given the massive impact January's volcanic eruption and tsunami had had on Tonga, she added.

Mahuta travelled to both Niue and Tonga this week and also used her visit to Nuku'alofa on Friday to launch New Zealand's new climate finance strategy, Tuia te Waka a Kiwa.

The strategy outlines how New Zealand will make decisions on spending the $1.3 billion it pledged for climate finance head of last year's UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), at least half of which will go to the Pacific.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced a new programme to bolster Tonga's health service.