Tonga Expat Health Insurance
The Kingdom of Tonga commonly referred to as Tonga, or the “Friendly Islands”, is a nation of 169 islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The country became a constitutional monarchy in 2010 and is headed by a King. 36 of its islands are inhabited, the capital city is Nuku’alofa. 70 percent of the population live on the main urbanised island of Tongatapu. Tonga’s borders stretch over 800 kilometres, and the population of the country is estimated to be at approximately 105,000 people. The official languages of Tonga are English and Tongan.
Tonga managed to avoid formal colonisation and was a British protected state until 1970. Recently in 2010 the country held its first election where the first democratically elected Prime Minister was chosen. Tonga is the only nation in the Pacific to never have given up its indigenous governance by the monarchy. Women in Tonga enjoy a higher social status than men but are often discriminated against in Government ministries, politics and land holding.
Unfortunately, the royal family live in great wealth, while the rest of the country lives in poverty. Neighbouring New Zealand and Australia provide much needed aid to Tonga. Unemployment in Tonga is high at approximately 13 percent and approximately 24 percent of the population are living below the poverty line. Many Tongans reside in Australia, New Zealand and the United States for employment and a higher standard of living. These Tongans send money home to their families.
Most Tongans earn a living producing food by fishing, farming and growing plantations of root crops, coconuts, vanilla beans, bananas and coffee beans. Tonga is well known for the alcoholic beverage kava (like liquid novocaine), which travellers must try once while visiting. The country’s main exports are vanilla beans, yams, squash and fish (which accounts for two thirds of total exports). Manufacturing of handicrafts takes place in Tonga and a small construction sector is developing. The tourism industry in Tonga is the second largest source of revenue although it is still under developed. The Tongan Government are aware that this could lead to greater revenues in the future. Tonga imports a lot of its food, equipment and fuel from nearby Fiji and New Zealand.
The Vava’u Group of islands often attract visiting cruise ships to Tonga as visitors are keen to partake in whale watching, snorkelling, diving, surfing, game fishing and lazing on the beaches. Tonga offers its visitors a laid back resort holiday, although it has fewer infrastructures in place than nearby Samoa. The country has a tropical climate with summer and winter seasons. The most comfortable time to visit Tonga is during its dry season from May to October. The tropical cyclone season runs from November to April and the rainy season from February to April.
Tonga Health Care and Insurance
Tonga has a national health care system which provides health care and medications free of charge. Visitors to Tonga requiring medical care are charged on a fixed scale basis for treatment and medications. Health care in Tonga is controlled by the Ministry of Health who are responsible for i) policy making and administration, ii) preventative health care services iii) medical treatment and iv) dental services. Medical facilities and access to medications is extremely limited especially on the more isolated islands. The Government spends approximately 10 – 15 percent of its total annual budget on health care.
The Tongan Government covers approximately 68.7 percent of total health care expenditure. The remaining 31.3 percent is private expenditure. Only approximately 12 percent of Tongans have health insurance as the health insurance system in Tonga only covers Government employees. A staggering 90 percent of Tongans are overweight with more than 60 percent of them being obese. Tonga and its neighbour Nauru have the world’s highest overweight and obese populations.
Tonga has 14 health care centres which provide treatment and preventative care to patients. These health care centres are supported by 4 hospitals. Vaiola Hospital in the capital city Nuku’alofa has 196 beds. The three other district hospitals are Prince Wellington Ngu Hospital in Vava’u, Niu’ui Hospital in Ha’apai and Niu’eki Hospital in Eua. The Doctors in Tonga are often trained in Australia, Fiji or New Zealand. Nurses are trained at Queen Salote School of Nursing in Tonga however many leave Tonga to take up employment in other countries.
The other main medical facilities in Tonga are the German Clinic (telephone: 676 22 736) in the capital city Nuku’alofa, the Italian Clinic and Pharmacy (telephone: 676 70 607) and the Prince Wellington Ngu Hospital (telephone: 676 70 201) both in Vava’u. Tonga also has a small number of private health care providers consisting of traditional healers and after hours Government Doctors who run private clinics from their homes.
The hospitals in Tonga have limited outpatient (Doctors visits etc) and emergency facilities. On average one health care centre services approximately 7,200 people and is staffed by one health officer and 1 – 3 nurses. As transportation between Tonga’s islands is difficult, referrals to the main hospital Vaiola are uncommon. Tongan residents and visitors to Tonga who have serious medical conditions are often referred to nearby New Zealand for treatment (a three hour flight away). The cost of which, for Tongan locals, is funded either by the New Zealand or Tongan Government. Specialist teams do visit Tonga regularly and can provide eye surgery, plastic surgery, orthopaedic surgery and heart disease care.
For tourists in Tonga requiring more complex medical treatment, the cost of medical evacuation to New Zealand can be very expensive. Visitors to Tonga should ensure that they have medical insurance that covers the cost of medical evacuation if required.
Tonga Travel Insurance Concerns
Crime is low in Tonga however petty crime and theft does take place. Visitors to Tonga should ensure that their valuables are protected and should be vigilant when venturing out alone in the evening. Travellers should also be cautious when in the water as the beaches have rough coral which can cut them and jelly fish which sting. Wearing water shoes is often a good idea to protect your feet from the coral.
Travellers should be aware that Tonga is influenced by the Christian faith and Polynesian traditions, meaning that commerce and entertainment activities cease from midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday to observe the Sabbath. Some hotels will not serve breakfast on Sunday but a small number of facilities will remain open for tourists. Tonga is also a very conservative country. Visitors should ensure that they wear clothing that covers their knees and men should keep their shirts on in all public places except when on the beach. Swim suits are only permitted on the beach. Tonga also has strict customs import and export regulations in relation to firearms, explosives, cars, eggs and some alcohol. Visitors may pay to check the latest customs regulations before travelling to Tonga.
The emergency telephone numbers in Tonga are as follows: 911 for the telecommunications emergency operator, 922 for the police, 933 for the hospitals.
Tonga is free from malaria. It is recommended that visitors be vaccinated against hepatitis A, typhoid (if eating and drinking outside of major restaurants and hotels), hepatitis B, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) and tetanus/diphtheria. Tonga did have an outbreak of dengue fever in early 2008 so travellers should take precautions to ensure that they are not bitten by mosquitoes that spread the disease. Various eye and skin diseases are also prevalent in Tonga.
Tonga has an organised movement seeking political reform. This group became violent in November 2006 sparking fires that destroyed much the central area of the capital city Nuku’alofa and killing 8 people. Travellers should avoid taking part in demonstrations as they may turn violent.
Tonga Expat Health Insurance
Visitors to Tonga should ensure that they have expat health insurance which covers the cost of emergency medical evacuation. While health care costs in Tonga are affordable, the facilities are limited and patients may need to be transported to nearby New Zealand for treatment in the event of a medical emergency in Tonga. Expat health insurance can help protect against the costs of such medical evacuations as the resulting bill can be very expensive. At Global Health Insurance we can provide a free quotation for Tonga expat health insurance that can cover a number of areas including emergency evacuation, hospitalisation, doctors visits and maternity care. Please contact one of our specialist Global Health Insurance consultants today for a free quotation.
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