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Vanuatu Expat Health Insurance

The Republic of Vanuatu, known as Vanuatu is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is made up of approximately 82 small islands, 65 of which are inhabited. There is a distance of approximately 1,300km between the most northern island and the most southern island. The capital city is Port Vila which is located on Efate Island and is one of the country’s largest towns. Vanuatu gained its independence in 1980 from France and the United Kingdom who jointly managed the country. Vanuatu’s population is approximately 224,000, approximately 80 percent of whom live in rural areas. The official languages are Bislama, English and French. Children are taught in English and French in Vanuatu schools.

Vanuatu’s terrain is steep with unstable soils, it has been estimated that only 9 percent of the land is used for growing crops and agriculture. The country is home to a large number of active volcanoes, including several underground volcanoes. An eruption of an undersea volcano occurred in 2008, fortunately no one was injured. Vanuatu has experienced a number of earthquakes in 2009, 2010 and 2011 ranging from 6.0 to 7.8 on the Richter scale. These earthquakes fortunately have not resulted in any damage or loss of life for Vanuatu.

The country offers much for travellers to see and do including tropical forests, scuba diving to explore coral reefs, cascading waterfalls, beautiful beaches, primitive villages and native reptiles for travellers to discover. Native animals include the Fiji Banded Iguana, the flowerpot snake, many types of birds, sea life and the giant east African land snail. Vanuatu has a subtropical climate with cool weather from April to September and hotter more humid weather from October. The rainy season occurs from December to April which also coincides with the hottest months of the year.

Vanuatu’s population is growing annually which is putting pressure on resources and leading to over fishing, deforestation to turn the land into cattle ranches and coconut plantations, a lack of freshwater supplies, poor waste disposal and increased air pollution. Vanuatu receives aid funding predominantly from Australia (who also assist the police force) and New Zealand, as well as France and recently China. The main drivers of Vanuatu’s economy are agriculture, tourism, cattle farming, offshore financial services (as the country is a tax haven) and fishing. Vanuatu exports kava (the roots of the kava plant are used to produce a drink which has a sedative and anesthetic effect), beef, copra (the dried meat or kernel of the coconut), cocoa and timber. The Export industry provides employment for approximately 65 percent of Vanuatu’s population.

Vanuatu Health Care and Insurance

Vanuatu has a Ministry of Health (MOH) which is responsible for health services in the country. The MOH has an executive branch which consists of a number of Directors who report to the Minister of Health. The executive branch of the MOH is headed by the Director General who oversees the management of the delivery of health services and advises the Minister as to the appropriate healthcare strategies for the country. Medical care in Vanuatu is funded by the Government, donor contributions and fees which patients pay to receive services at the Government medical facilities.

The rural communities in Vanuatu have minimal access to basic health care services, as the Vanuatu Government is finding it difficult to attend to the needs of the country’s increasing population. The healthcare services in the larger towns of Port Vila, the capital city, and Luganville provide limited medical services and are supported by visiting Doctors.

Inpatient services (hospitalisation) in Vanuatu are delivered through the 2 referral hospitals in Port Vila and Luganville. These main medical facilities are the Northern District Hospital (telephone: 678 36 345) in Luganville and the Vila Central Hospital (telephone: 678 22 100) in Port Vila. Vanuatu also has 3 provincial hospitals, 1 specialist hospital, 32 health centres and 180 village based aid posts which deliver community based health services. The country also has several private Doctors and a private hospital in Port Vila called Vila Bay Hospital which opened in 2006.

Vanuatu is suffering a shortage of medical professionals as more professionals are leaving then can be replaced. There is a shortage of nurses due to funding for trainees being cut in the past. Currently approximately 250 medical positions are vacant.

Medical treatment including the cost of medications can be very expensive in Vanuatu. Travellers should be aware that medical facilities also require immediate payment in cash for providing medical services. Pharmacies can be found in Vanuatu in the main townships but are often inadequately stocked. Travellers to Vanuatu should ensure that they bring appropriate supplies of medications with them to Vanuatu.

As the medical facilities are limited, in the case of a serious illness, travellers will need to be medically evacuated to a nearby country (likely Australia or New Zealand) with adequate medical facilities. As the cost of medical evacuation can be expensive, travellers should ensure that they have international medical insurance which will cover the cost if evacuation is required.

Medical evacuations in Vanuatu are operated by ProMedica, staffed by Australians and New Zealanders, who also run a paramedic service. Vanuatu only has one hyperbaric chamber for divers, which is located in the capital city of Port Vila. Port Vila is not home to the majority of the popular dive sites, so transportation to the chamber would be required in the event of an emergency.

Vanuatu Travel Advice

The people of Vanuatu are very friendly and keen to show tourists their country and what it has to offer. It is a safe country to visit and does not have the pressures of bargaining and hawkers that other countries do. Travellers should take the usual precautions to protect their belongings and women should avoid going out alone at night, especially on foot, as they may be the subject of sexual harassment or assault. Violent crime is rare in Vanuatu however theft and burglary is on the rise. Visitors requiring emergency assistance in Vanuatu should dial 112.

Travellers are advised to ensure that their childhood vaccinations are up to date (including measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DPT), polio etc). Visitors should also receive vaccinations against hepatitis A, hepatitis B and typhoid.

One of Vanuatu’s greatest dangers is malaria, although there have been no recent reported cases on the main island of Efate (where the capital city Port Vila is located) travellers to outer islands should take anti malarial medication before travelling to Vanuatu. The anti malarial drug Chloroquine is not an effective anti malarial drug in Vanuatu. Travellers will need to take a different drug to ensure that they are protected. Travellers should protect themselves from insect bites to ensure that they are prevented from contracting diseases. Insects including mosquitoes have also been known to carry dengue fever, chikungunya, filariasis, Ross River virus and Murray Valley encephalitis in the Pacific Islands. Traveller should ensure that they have medical insurance in case of emergency.

Vanuatu Expat Health Insurance

Given Vanuatu’s remote location, accessibility to healthcare in some areas is a problem and it also means that medical facilities in Vanuatu are often inadequately stocked and expensive. In some cases Vanuatu’s healthcare facilities may be unable to provide lifesaving treatment, meaning that medical transportation or evacuation to a nearby country with top quality facilities, such as Australia or New Zealand, may be necessary from Vanuatu. Expat health insurance and comprehensive travel health insurance can often provide you extensive coverage in such cases, protecting you from the extraordinarily high costs of international medical transportation and hospital bills. At Global Health Insurance we can provide you with quotations for world wide and Vanuatu expat health insurance that covers inpatient, outpatient, maternity and medical evacuation. Please contact one of our friendly international health insurance specialists now for free quotations from the world’s leading medical insurance providers.